Sarah and The Unicorn
by samuraistar
Summary: Sarah has been chosen for a special rescue mission!  But in a world where not everything's what it seems, she'll have to be on her guard.  So will Jareth. samuraistar's FIRST LABYRINTH FIC! Better than it sounds, I promise!
1. Prologue: The Pool of the Chosen

Oy! I am SO glad to be back in the game after that unbearably long hiatus!

Anyone who reads my work knows that I just recently completed "I Hate Teenage Drama" for Kingdom Hearts and am now going to try my hand at my favorite Jim Henson movie, _Labyrinth._ Please bear with me, since it is my first try; it's definitely not as good as some of the other Labyrinth fics I've read, but I think it'll be pretty good for what it is (I say that so often!). Please enjoy this enchanting prologue to my very first _Labyrinth_ story! (fanfare!)

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_"That's not fair!"_—Sarah, from the movie

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**Story Title: The Girl, The Goblin, and The Unicorn**

**Summary****:** Sarah has been chosen for a special rescue mission! But in a world where not everything's what it seems, she'll have to be on her guard. So will Jareth. (sigh, the first time I've ever typed his sweet name in fanfiction! Faint)

**Prologue: The Pool of the Chosen**  
_The members of the council murmured as they took their cushions around the Pool; only the ten councilmen and the queen were permitted to gather at the Pool under the full moon in the Quiet Clearing._

_The queen snuck a flowerette while waiting for the other councilors to arrive; there were seven so far, all elves. Who else could serve on the Elf Council?_

_The fragrant scent of violets rushed from between her lips, earning her a look of disapproval from Lord Gimble. She smirked at him with a half-smile as if daring him to chide her like he always did. He said nothing in light of the circumstance and contented himself with the fact that at least Her Majesty was wearing a dress and tiara, like she was supposed to._

_The last three council members arrived, hastily shrugging off their traveling cloaks as they sat Indian style on their seats. Her Majesty snuffed out her flowerette, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and stuffed it in her traveler's bag before anyone else could notice. A small breath of wind sighed in the trees behind them, through the moss and the willow branches, rippling the reflected moonlight in the pool and a hush fell over the council._

_It was time to begin._

_The queen slowly and gracefully rose to her feet, her pale green skirt regathering itself from the bunches it had become as she sat. Her eyes—one a dark emerald, the other a deep, glittering sapphire—fixed themselves intently on the dark blue of the sacred waters._

_"Members of the Council," she said in a loud, clear voice, "as we are all aware of the crisis at hand, I see no need to explain why I have summoned you all here. But for the sake of formality, I will._

_"We are here to gaze into the Pool of the Chosen to find the one who would rescue our missing friend."_

_As the Council murmured in agreement, the queen knelt at the Pool; in one practiced motion, she unhooked her right earring, a dark emerald shaped like a pendulum on a gold hoop, and held it in the water, finger and all. She moved her left knee up and propped her arm over it, keeping her focus on the pool. She closed her eyes._

_"Sacred pool," she said reverently, "in the heaviness of our hearts and the fullness of the moon, we humbly kneel at your shores and present our troubles before you."_

_The pendulum earring glowed under the surface; all eyes were glued to the vision appearing in the water in a swirl of green and blue._

_A unicorn neighed in fear and distress, crying for someone to help it. When it disappeared suddenly, the councilmen whispered in disturbed voices. The queen kept her troubled eyes pointed downward and concentrated._

_"Sacred pool," she continued, "if you can, reveal to us the villain responsible for this atrocity."_

_The Council leaned forward anxiously now, hanging over the edge of their seats to get a good look. A general shape started to materialize, but a gust of wind swept into the clearing and destroyed it. Only the queen understood what that meant._

_"It doesn't know," whispered an elf._

_"It's an omen," muttered another._

_"No good will come of this," said a third._

_"Silence," the queen calmly commanded, "All is not lost. The villain is always the hardest to find. That is why we have heroes. Sacred pool, reveal to us the champion best suited to rescue our friend."_

_This time the image was clear and all that hovered around the pool could see the face of the chosen one. Even the queen could not hide the surprise in her eyes, but they betrayed only a fraction of the inner turmoil that now plagued her._

_"**That** one?" she exhaled softly, "Surely not! There must be some mistake.""My queen!" Lord Gimble reproached her, "Never in the history of our kingdom has the Pool chosen wrongly!" She met his eyes levelly, her coolness back._

_"Never in the history of our kingdom has the Pool chosen a **mortal girl,"** she said, "especially not this one."_

_"With due respect, my queen," one of the elves sat up, "I fail to share Your Majesty's surprise at this choice, considering the qualities required for such a task are bred into this mortal girl, especially the protective magic she has over her."_

_"Rightly spoken, Lady Michal," the queen nodded, "but that's partly what I'm worried about." The elf lady did not press her further, for which Her Majesty was grateful._

_"Well, now," she said as she withdrew her earring and put it back on, "I thank you all for coming. I must now ask you to return home and reconvene in the morning at dawn in the council chambers. You'll be investigating the crime; when I return, I want to know who stole our friend._

_"I have an investigation of my own to pursue," she finished as she donned a royal cloak, "You all know how to reach me. Until I return, ta-ta."_

_She seemed to become the hawk the instant she turned with the rustling of her skirt, a beautiful female hawk with gold and white feathers with yellow legs and a green diamond-shaped mark on her head._

_She flew toward her destination as fast as her powerful wings could carry her, venting her frustration with every beat._

_As she flew, one disturbing thought bounced around her head, festering like a wound._

_'Jareth is not going to like this.'_

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**Author's Review****:**  
Mwahahaha! Not bad for a prologue, eh?

Little note here: Lady Michal is pronounced like "McCall," okay? I got the name from a Nest Entertainment cartoon video I like to watch! (I don't own them or the name, btw.)

I'm a little pressed for time today (which sucks, this being my first Labyrinth story), so I'll just leave the R/R routine to you guys. And I hope those of you who stuck with me for my Kingdom Hearts stories will also enjoy this! (please?) Love y'all!


	2. Webber Vs Shakespeare

Hello again, my loyal readers! I might be updating a little more often, since I've been let go from my job. (sniff) Don't mourn my loss, my dears! I hated that job anyway; I'll find something better!  In the meantime, allow me to babble about my story for a minute…

I had the toughest time deciding the ages of our beloved Williams siblings. I wanted Toby to be 8, but I also wanted Sarah to be a high school senior, and that was a chronologic conflict and Sarah being a high school senior won. Therefore, Toby is actually 5 in this story, but he has the smart mentality of an eight-year-old, if you can imagine that…which I'm sure you can! The tone of the first chapter will be a departure from the dramatic prologue, but most of them are, so it's okay! I hope you'll at least enjoy it on a bathroom-reading level (whatever that is). And I'm doing a new style, since reading the Twilight books; I'm having a chapter prologue speech from each of the characters, or something like that. I think you'll like it. Here it is!

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_"But I tell you once and once again, Macavity's not there!" – _Demeter, _CATS the Musical_

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**Chapter One: Webber Vs. Shakespeare**

_I thought I was free of the Goblin King forever; but lately I've been thinking so much about him that I wonder if I really want to be free of him after all. What would happen if I saw him again? Will I ever find out?_

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Sarah rushed as fast as she could to the principal's office at Toby's school; she found him sitting mutinously on the leather sofa with Principal Mando standing over him with her arms crossed.

"I came as soon as I could," Sarah panted, "Thank you for calling me, Mrs. Mando."

"Thank you for coming, Ms. Williams," she nodded curtly, "Won't you please sit down?" Sarah sat down next to Toby, who nervously cast her a sideways glance from behind his curtain of sandy hair while twiddling his thumbs. She caught his eye and tried to mentally reassure him.

"Is something wrong, Mrs. Mando?" she asked.

"To tell the truth, not much," said the principal, "Nothing I don't remember his _sister_ doing at his age."

"Ma'am?" she asked, confused.

"Why don't you tell your sister what happened, Mr. Williams?" she prompted. Toby heaved a big sigh.

"I yelled at Molly Stevens and she started crying," he said dully.

"What did you _say_ to her?" Sarah asked.

"It doesn't matter what he said," the principal cut in, "It's _how_ he said it; I could hear him from the Teacher's Lounge, for Pete's sake! He was practically _screaming_ at her!"

Toby slouched lower; Sarah touched his hand comfortingly.

"Ms. Williams," said Mrs. Mando, "when are your parents coming home?"

"In about an hour," the girl answered. Their parents were in New York City on a business trip of her dad's, lawyer stuff, so Sarah was once again entrusted with her brother's safety. This time, however, she didn't mind so much.

Principal Mando sat behind her desk with a sigh, removed her glasses, and rubbed her head.

"I suppose when a child's parents are far away, this kind of behavior is expected," she said, "I'd like you to take your brother home, Ms. Williams."

_"Home?"_ Toby jumped up, "I can't go now! I'm the director!"

"Well obviously, you're under a lot of pressure and need a break," said the lady, "Go home and get some rest. You'll be glad of it later."

"But"—

"Thank you, Mrs. Mando," Sarah smiled politely with her hands on his shoulders, "Come on, Toby."

"But, Sarah…!" he whined as she herded him out.

"Come on," she beamed, "You'll get to see me audition for _my_ play!" Toby brightened up at that.

"So what exactly _did_ happen in rehearsal today?" she asked later as they walked toward the high school.

"Well, we're doing the songs from Cats the Musical," he said, "And Molly got the part of Grizzabella…"

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(Flashback!)  
"No, no, no!" Toby threw down his copy of the script. "Molly!" The pretty blonde girl stopped, startled as Toby marched up to her.

"You're holding back, Molly!" he shouted, "You are Grizzabella, the Glamour Cat! You're old and worn like a rag doll kicked around the street! Your overzealous nature of living for the moment is what turned you into an old has-been! You used to be young, beautiful, and full of life, but now your days of glory are over and you'll never relive them! You abandoned your clan to grab life by the scruff, and now it's come back to bite you on the tail! No cat respects you anymore, and every cat shuns you and denies you, but you continue to live. Your angst and your strength are your song, but where's your angst, Molly? Where's your strength? Where's your courage to stand in the presence of the cats who shun you and give voice to the pain in your soul?"

Halfway through his rant, tears started cascading down the girl's cheeks. By the time Toby realized what he'd done, the teacher was dragging him to the principal's office.

(End of flashback)

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"Holy crap, Toby!" Sarah exclaimed, "You said all that to her?" Toby nodded guiltily.

"Toby, Molly's only 6 years old," she explained, "She's not old enough to get really deep in a character. No one your age does, except you. Just have patience with them."

"You're right," he nodded, "You know…I saw him outside the principal's window."

"Who?" his sister asked, puzzled.

"The Goblin King," he said in a quiet voice, "He was watching the rehearsal and followed me to the principal's office. He flew off after we left."

"Really…" Sarah wasn't sure why she felt a stirring in the pit of her stomach, or why the mention of the Goblin King touched a secret corner of her heart. The flutter of emotion could be felt in her veins, literally!

Casually, she looked up and around for any sign of his presence—the flash of a white feather, a screech or a hoot—anything that would let her know he was still watching her.

"Where is he now?" she asked before she could stop herself. Toby held her hand as they crossed the street to the high school (it's after school hours, by the way).

"I don't know," he said, "but I think he'll watch your audition. I told him about it last night and he seemed interested."

_'Great,'_ Sarah though as they walked into the auditorium, _'The Drama Club's not enough, now the __Goblin__ King!'_ She just knew she was going to mess up, but the auditorium had no windows and Jareth was gone…wasn't he?

"Next up," said one of the Drama Club officers, "Ms. Sarah Williams, auditioning for the part of Helena."

Toby sat still in one of the front rows, where he was greeted by some of the Drama students in a friendly manner.

"How 'bout it, scout?" said a boy, calling him by his nickname, "You think she'll get it?" Toby looked at him, his baby blues sparkling with wisdom beyond his years.

"My sister solved the Labyrinth of the Goblin King to save me," he said in a hushed voice full of awe, "She can do _anything."_ He turned his attention to his sister, his role model, as she took the stage; the student was mystified, like everyone was when speaking to Sarah's baby stepbrother.

Sarah was wearing her green elf-like dress with flowers done up in her hair, her head high with confidence.

"For my audition," she said clearly, "I'll be reciting Helena's first soliloquy from Act I."

"You may start when ready," one of the students nodded. Everyone there had heard of Sarah Williams' uncanny ability to understand, inside and out, any character in any play. She was a genuinely masterful actress, just as her mother had been; no one, least of all Toby, wanted to miss this.

The young thespian took a big breath with her eyes closed, then lifted them with a sparkling light that revealed the longing love of Helena for Bertram (I only read as far as the first act, so don't flame me for being ignorant…or I'll cry.).

_"O, were that all!"_ she started, _"I think not on my father;_

_"And these great tears grace his remembrance more  
than those I shed for him. What was he like?  
I have forgot him; my imagination  
carries no favor in it but Bertram's."_

She bowed her head and held her hands to her heart.

_"I am undone."_ She lifted her head._ "There is no living—__**none!**__—if Bertram be away. It were all one…_

_"That I should love a bright particular star,  
and think to __**wed**__ it, he is so above me:  
In his bright radiance and collateral light  
must I be comforted, not in his sphere."_

As she continued the soliloquy, she realized why she picked this one and who it reminded her of.

_"The ambition in my love thus plagues itself:  
The hind that would be mated by the lion  
must die for love. 'Twas pretty, though a plague,  
to see him every hour; to sit and draw  
his arched brows, his hawking eye, his curls,  
in our heart's table—heart to capable  
of every line and trick of his sweet favor…"_

Her lip trembled at the next line and a tear carried the weight in her voice down her smooth cheek.

"But now he's gone," she said slowly, _"and my idolatrous fancy must sanctify his relics."_

Her hand crept up to her face to stop itself from trembling; he had been her enemy, and yet the thought of him being gone made her want to crumple into a heap.

Then she remembered where she was and what she was doing; the students and teacher in charge of auditions were staring at her. So was Toby.

"Sarah, that was…" said the teacher, "…incomparable! But…it's Bertram."

"I'm sorry?" Sarah blinked in confusion.

"The line is, 'if _Bertram_ be away,'" she explained patiently, "And if I'm not mistaken, I believe you said Ja—"

"Yay, Sarah!" Toby jumped up and shouted, clapping his hands and cutting off the teacher, "That was great! Wasn't she great?" The students he was sitting with laughed lightly at his precocious charm and agreed with him.

"Yes, that _was_ good," said one of the girls, "Thank you, Sarah. The results will be up next week."

Still confused and flushed, Sarah nodded and left the stage to try and control herself. What was _wrong_ with her?

"Sarah!" Toby snuck backstage and held onto her, "Sarah, are you okay?"

"Oh, Toby!" she cried as she fell to her knees and hugged him around the neck, "I'm sorry you have to see me like this!"

"I don't mind, Sarah," he replied as he hugged back, "It just means you need me, and I like that."

Sarah smiled through her tears as his shaggy hair brushed her face. When she calmed down, she took her dress off from over her clothes and they walked home hand-in-hand.

"Toby," she asked in a faraway voice as she looked forward, "what _did_ I say in my audition?"

"Oh," he said as he kicked a small rock, "You, uh…said Jareth…instead of Bertram."

Sarah stopped dead in her tracks while Toby walked up the porch steps and turned to look at her.

"I…what?" she asked, completely lost and confused. Hadn't she heard herself say Bertram?

"You said there is no living if Jareth be away," Toby answered, skipping down the steps, "I guess you just confused 'em. I wonder if _he_ heard you?"

As if in answer, a flutter of wings was heard, startling the two.

"I guess he did," said Toby, smiling. "He must be embarrassed about it!"

"How do you know that was him?" she asked irritably as she marched into the house in a huff. Toby trotted after her into the kitchen.

"Because it _was!_" he insisted as he hopped to the bar counter, "He comes to see me every night and tells me stories and we talk. I know him when I hear him."

Sarah stared at her brother; could it be true?

"He comes to see you?" she repeated. Toby poured himself some milk.

"Yeah," he answered uncomfortably, "Sarah…Do you miss the Goblin King?"

She stopped with her back to him; she'd been asking herself that for days.

"I don't really know, Toby," she answered and leaned against the fridge, "I mean, he kidnapped you…which was my fault…he put me through heck to get you back. He was my enemy, but…"

_'Whenever he appeared,'_ her mind finished for her, _'I watched his eyes. They were cold and cruel when he looked at anyone else. But when he looked at me…'_ She swallowed and pinched her eyes shut. _'…They told me the truth every time. He couldn't hide his feelings because they always escaped through his eyes.'_

She remembered the dramatic difference in his voice between threatening Hoggle with the Bog of Eternal Stench and asking her how she was enjoying the Labyrinth. It was just like his eyes—they changed as much as his voice did.

She smiled and sat down across from Toby with her face in one hand.

"You know something?" she said, "I think I do miss him." He nodded understandingly and drank his milk.

"I thought so," he said as he wiped off his milk moustache, "That's why I interrupted the teacher when she almost said his name. You always jump when you hear somebody say any J-name, so I didn't want you to be embarrassed about…him."

"Thanks, Toby." She ruffled his hair. "I do love you, you know." Toby giggled and put his hand over her wrist.

"I love you to, sis," he chimed. The front door then opened and their father's voice greeted them.

"Sarah! Toby! We're home!"

"Papa!" Toby shouted excitedly, "Mama!"

**Author's Review****:**  
Two days passed between the actual chapter and this review; sorry, folks.

Anyway as I've said, I haven't read very far in that Shakespeare play (_All's Well That Ends Well_) so I'm not sure I've used that little speech in the right context, but whatever. It's fan fiction, so I guess not everything has to make sense, right? ;)

I hope you enjoyed it, at least a little; this probably isn't the most exciting fic I've ever written (it'll get better in about two chapters) but I hope you'll like it anyway. (Note the confidence!)

See y'all next time! Please review nicely!


	3. The Goblin Minstrels

LOL! I am in such a giddy mood right now! The sun is shining, it's almost Halloween, and the temperature's dropping! I love the cold weather! Don't look at me like I'm crazy! Just enjoy the next chapter, AFTER I explain a bit…

At the time I wrote this chapter, (I handwrite them first) I was listening to my N-Sync CDs and wrote a parody of "Drive Myself Crazy" for Jareth and Sarah! (Mostly for Jareth) And yes—the goblin band that sings it is a spoof of the actual band! ;) I think it'll amuse you. Enjoy!

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_"Yes, Jack Skellington; it's me! The man who made Sally from bits of flesh and pieces of cloth! But she loves YOU, you oblivious twit!"—_Dr. Finklestein, _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ (it was a deleted scene, by the way—VERY funny!)

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**Chapter 2: The Goblin Minstrels**  
_My name's Toby; I'm 5. My sister saved me from turning into a goblin when I was just a baby, but the Goblin King still comes to talk to me. It's okay, we're friends. He doesn't want to turn me into a goblin anymore; in fact, he keeps some of his goblins in my closet to watch me while I sleep._

_Lately I've been having these weird dreams; I don't know why, but I think they have to do with Sarah. When I told Jareth about them, he told me not to worry; Sarah had goblins in her closet, too—three friends she made in the Labyrinth. She tells me about them all the time; I hope I get to meet them someday._

_I'm confused, though—if I'm not supposed to worry, why did Jareth leave so suddenly last night?_

_I better talk to Sarah about Jareth and the dreams I've had so far; I've got a feeling that something bad's about to happen, and I've got to protect her if I can._

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Sarah wandered upstairs to her room after Dad and Irene settled back in; her room was now what used to be Toby's nursery and was decorated pretty much the same way her old room had been. The bed was on the left wall from the door, her music box standing on a bedside table drawer next to her alarm clock. There was also a fancy clock with Roman Numerals on the opposite wall from the bed. Her vanity desk stood across from the door to the left of the window-door.

She walked in and turned on the light, immediately after which she gasped loudly and slammed her back against the door, her heart leaping into her throat.

There were _goblins_ in her room! Not the usual ones that hid in her closet, not Hoggle and her friends, but the _humanoid_ kind!

There were five of them—all men—wearing green clothes and black capes and black shoes and gloves, their skin was all shades of green, and they were all scattered in various parts of the room. One of them had a goatee and baby blue eyes and another had short, spiky hair. If goblins had boy bands, this was what they looked like.

Sarah stared at them wide-eyed and speechless; the goblin with the goatee laughed.

"You were right, bro," he said, "My goatee does scare all the girls!"

"Maybe if you'd put a lid on the horns once in a while, you wouldn't look so much like a thugged-out gargoyle," smiled another one.

"Excuse me," Sarah found her voice, "but…who are you guys?" The blond one with blue eyes stepped forth with a sweeping apologetic bow.

"Forgive the intrusion, milady," he said politely, "but do I have the honor, in behalf of my brothers, of addressing the lady Sarah Williams?" Sarah blushed; no one but Sir Didymus had ever called her a lady before.

"Yes," she nodded, "I'm Sarah." She decided to take a leap of faith. "Were you sent by the Goblin King?"

"I'll say we were," smiled the blond with a sweep of his cape, "We are the king's personal minstrels. My name is Stunji…" He bowed again. "…and these are my brothers: Yoej, Nelca, Shric, and Juck." (And yes, I did mix up their names, too!)

"Hi," Sarah half-smiled and waved awkwardly, "Nice to meet you guys."

"We were sent by King Jareth himself with a message of music, milady," Stunji explained as he took her hand like a gentleman and led her to her bed, "He would have you know the state of his feelings in the aftermath of your battle in the Labyrinth."

"_His_ feelings?" she flared up, "He kidnaps my baby brother and puts me through his stupid labyrinth just to get him back, and now he's trying to _guilt trip_ me? Is he really that self-centered?"

"He heard you outside, Sarah," said the one with the goatee, "He heard everything you said about him from the school to here. You have the option to refuse the message, but he asked us to be insistent."

Sarah's stomach took a suicidal jump to the floor.

"He heard me?" she asked with a red face.

"He knows you miss him," said Stunji quietly, "It's none of our business what goes on between you and the king; we simply do as we are ordered. He only told us all that to negotiate with you. Will you hear our message, dear lady?"

She was about to retort that there was nothing at all "going on" between Jareth and herself, but the soft and gentle tone of the leading minstrel had ruined it and she couldn't find it in her heart to refuse him.

"Of course I will," she said, "You're obviously loyal to the king and love what you do, and you must've gone to a lot of trouble just to come and serenade me, so yes. I will accept the king's message and hear your song."

"Thank you, my lady." Stunji stood up straight. "Okay, guys; just like we rehearsed."

The music seemed to come from nowhere as the goblin minstrels situated themselves around her; Stunji was in front of her and hummed his part of the introduction.

_Dancing in your arms  
so close together  
in a crystal masquerade  
Now I pace around  
my lonely castle  
thinking of you every day_

_I miss your eyes  
I miss your spark  
and I cry  
alone in the dark_

_(Chorus!)  
I lie awake  
I drive myself crazy  
I drive myself crazy  
thinking of you_

_Made a mistake  
when I let you go, baby  
I drive myself crazy  
wanting you the way that I do  
(wanting you the way that I do)_

(Okay, so the chorus was original; sorry!)

_I was such a fool  
to take your brother  
knowing that you'd take him back  
So I kept you there  
inside the Labyrinth  
'cause I wanted the time to last_

_And now I'm left  
with all this pain  
I've only got  
myself to blame  
Oh!  
(Repeat chorus)_

As they sang to her, Sarah remained sitting upright on the edge of her bed. Surprisingly, nothing they had said so far surprised her; she knew why the Goblin King had stolen Toby, distracted her with crystal ball dreams, and made a last desperate attempt to keep her in his realm. She knew very well.

He loved her. As plain and simple as it was, that was the truth; Jareth loved her and had proven time and again that he would've done anything for her! Could he really still love her so much, after she had defied him, conquered his Labyrinth, broken his peach spell, laid his guards to waste, invaded his castle, and bested him at the very cost of her dreams, and _all_ in thirteen hours?

Apparently, he could. In that, Sarah felt something akin to comfort and hope—comfort that she was never alone, that her friends were always within reach, and hope that she would someday find herself again in the enchanting world of the Labyrinth.

She wiped her eyes when the minstrels finished; she hadn't felt the tears falling until it was too late to stop them.

Stunji knelt on one knee before her with a hand over his heart.

"I trust you enjoyed the song, dear lady?" he smiled gallantly.

"I did," she gasped, trying not to sob, "I'm sorry; I shouldn't be crying like this."

"Nay, fair one," he objected as one of his brothers handed her a box of tissues, "We are rather pleased with your reaction; your tears are a gracious compliment to our hard work, proof that our song has touched your noble heart. We thank you for your tears, for they are the salute of a 'job well done' to a minstrel." Sarah chuckled a bit at the goblin's eloquence.

"You're welcome, Stunji," she smiled, "all of you. You're wonderful minstrels."

"Thank you, milady," they chorused.

"Sarah?" said Irene's voice as her door knocked, "What's with all the noise? What are you doing in there?"

Quick as a wink, the goblin minstrels were either under Sarah's bed or in her closet as her stepmom walked in with her hands on her hips.

"Honestly, Sarah," she shook her head, "Can't you keep that music of yours down? You teenagers with your silly boy bands…"

"Don't be silly, Mama!" Toby's voice piped behind her, "Don't you know goblins when you hear 'em?" She moved to let him in.

"Goblins?" she said flatly, "Is that what you think, Toby?" He shrugged; he knew it was okay to talk about goblins in front of his parents, since they never believed him and his five-year-old mentality.

"Well it wasn't elves," he rationalized, "They're more sophisticated than goblins and we're too far away from the beach for it to be mermaids."

"All right, all right," Irene rolled her eyes, "You win; it was goblins. Now please tell them to keep it down." She left the room. Toby spun around and looked right at Sarah.

"I didn't miss 'em, did I?" he asked fearfully, "Are they still here?"

"Yeah, they're still here," Sarah nodded, "It's okay, guys; she's gone."

They slowly crept from under her bed and in her closet, poking their heads out first.

"Who's the kid?" asked the one with the goatee, Shric. Sarah held Toby's shoulders.

"Guys, this is Toby," she introduced, "Toby, these are the king's goblin minstrels."

"Nice to meet you, everyone," the boy smiled, "I hope you were nice to my sister." The goblins laughed lightly.

"Toby!" Sarah reproached, "Where are your manners?"

"It's all right, milady," said Shric, "We've heard about the young prince Toby. We're honored to meet you, sir."

"Me, too," Toby nodded, "I heard you guys singing. I'm sorry I missed the whole thing."

"Well, I'm not," Sarah gripped him chidingly, "You can go back to Jareth now and tell him his message is well received."

"Have you a token to send with us?" asked one of the other goblins.

"Um…" said Sarah, "Not this time. I'm not sure it's a good idea to encourage him so soon."

"That is your business," Stunji bowed politely, "We will return to him now. Thank you for your patience, fair lady, and good night."

They disappeared in a confusing manner that Sarah couldn't figure out (the truth is I just couldn't come up with one, sorry).

"Sarah, I've gotta tell you something," Toby tugged on her hand, "I had a weird dream when I took my nap and I think I should tell you about it."

"All right, my little goblin prince," Sarah grinned as she tossed him on her bed and grabbed a stuffed bunny, "What was your dream about?"

Toby laid across from her on his back holding the stuffed animal version of Sir Didymus over his head, which was pointed in her direction so that she looked upside down to him.

"I was a prince," he started, "or a knight, or something. Either way, I was six feet tall with a sword and wearing chain mail. I was facing down a couple of mysterious warriors in black cloaks.

"One of them asked me, 'Where is the girl? Where is the princess?' I had no idea who he was talking about, so I asked him. He said, 'We seek the princess of the Goblin Kingdom, she who conquered the Labyrinth.'

"I knew they were talking about you when they mentioned the Labyrinth, but I didn't want to blab on you, so I said to them, 'There is no princess of the Goblin Kingdom that I know of. As for the girl who conquered the Labyrinth, you'll not find her here, either.' I was telling the truth, too, 'cause you weren't in my dream."

"What did they say then?" Sarah asked with genuine curiosity as she moved her face over his to look at him.

"They asked if I knew where they _could_ find you," he said as he met her eyes, "and the way they said it, they wanted to fight. I told them again that you weren't there, so they came at me with battle axes! They were tough guys, but I handled 'em! Then Merlin woke me up and that's when I heard your minstrel friends."

"Poor Toby," Sarah mused as she smoothed down his hair, "Weren't you scared?"

"Of course," he answered, "scared for _you_."

"What?" she blinked, "Me?" Toby rolled onto his tummy and looked his sister straight in the eyes.

"Somebody's after you, Sarah," he said seriously, "The guys from my dream? I think they were spies, scouts that were sent to find you and spy on you through your dreams, but they can't find you, so they're trying to get past me first! But I beat 'em, Sarah! I'm not gonna let anybody hurt you! And if they come back I'll beat 'em again, just for you! And even if they _do_ get through me, they'll have Hoggle and Ludo and Sir Didymus to deal with! Then, of course, there's Jareth and the rest of the goblins; I don't think _anyone_ can get past the Goblin King…except you."

This news disturbed Sarah; if all that was true, then someone was basically using her brother to get to her! Who was evil enough to invade a small child's dreams and try to use them as a gateway to her own? Not even Jareth was _that_ bad.

"I can't think of anyone who would want to spy on my dreams," she mused, "except Jareth."

"He's not doing it," the boy said dismissively, "It's not his style, for one thing, and he wouldn't attack me, even in dreams, for another. Those guys weren't goblins, Sarah; they were gargoyles, I think. Besides, Jareth _creates_ dreams, not invades. Like I said, it's not his style."

"Hmm," was Sarah's only reply. That was all true; Toby obviously knew Jareth as well as she did. So how come he never came to see _her?_

She sighed; she needed to get out of this house for some air. She needed to think.

"Toby," she said wearily as she slid off the bed, "I'm going to the park; I need to be alone for a while."

"Oh, but…" Toby sat up on his knees. "I don't think you should be there all alone."

"Don't worry about me," she smiled, "If I get lonely, I'll just call my friends."

As she left, Toby's worry for her grew; someone was out to get her and she needed the best protection there was. He walked out to her small balcony, where a beautiful and familiar barn owl perched on the railing. Toby smiled and pet his head.

"I know you told me not to worry," he said quietly, "but I'd feel a lot better knowing you were out there watching her. Please go with her, and make sure she comes back safe." The owl blinked and took flight. Toby watched it go and then another beautiful bird of prey landed on the corner of the rail. The boy's eyes widened.

"Who are _you_?"

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Duh-duh-DUUUUH!!!! I told you it would get good! Who is this mysterious new bird? Who's stalking Toby and Sarah? Who's chubbier, Perry Mason or Scotty from Star Trek? The answers to the first two questions will be answered in the next chapter!

Oh, wait! Movie references!

Let's see…The "just like we rehearsed" is from Finding Nemo! Yay!

And that's all the movies, I guess. And yes—the goblin minstrels' names are mixed up versions of the guys of N-Sync! Wheeeee! The song was a (mostly) parody of "Drive Myself Crazy" from the blue CD they put out in the 90's (don't remember what it's called).

Please leave a nice review and get a free cookie! Halloween shaped!

Happy Halloween, everybody!


	4. Walking On Air

I was so delighted to get nice reviews that I decided to do another chapter! (What logic, huh?) I hope everyone had a nice Halloween and will look forward to having a wonderful Thanksgiving! (Or whatever you happen to celebrate in November; I just celebrate Thanksgiving. ^_^)

This chapter is my favorite one so far, and before anyone asks, yes: It IS a huge spoof of Howl's Moving Castle! Now that we've got that covered, shall we proceed?

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_"Sorry; I've had enough running away. Now I've got something I want to protect; it's you."_—Howl, Howl's Moving Castle (let's consider that like the theme quote of the story!)

* * *

**Chapter 3: Walking On Air**  
_I had always hoped, through some foolish lover's hope, that she would call for me once again. What kills me is that she thinks I left her; why she would think that is beyond me._

_The boy insists she's in some sort of danger and he's very perceptive for a child his age; I know that better than anyone, so I don't wait to be asked twice when he asks me to follow her. Whatever is trying to happen…whoever has cast his eye on her…God help him._

* * *

Sarah stayed in the park until twilight talking to Hoggle and her friends. Hoggle had awkwardly held her when she started crying her confusion, then Ludo picked her up like a baby and rocked her, trying to make her feel better. It did because it was just so cute! Sir Didymus then had Ambrosius reluctantly perform tricks for her and provided her with more counsel, mainly concerned with following her heart.

"Thus far, thy heart hast never steered thee wrong, my lady," he said, "'Tis especially for a time such as this to hearken unto it."

"Sarah good heart," Ludo agreed.

"And as for _Jareth_," Hoggle added, "don't you worry 'bout him. He's rough, but even _**I**_ can tell he's attached to you. A lot of men have a harder time than others dealing with their feelings.

"For instance, when he gave me that peach and ordered me to give it to you, he said that if you ever _kissed_ me, he'd turn me into the prince of the land of stench!"

"That's horrible!" she gasped, "But that also explains the trap door; why would he say something like that?"

"Because he was jealous!" he pointed, "Jealous that we was friends, that you were callin' fer me instead 'o him, that we was practically goin' all over the Labyrinth together! It drove him nuts, but he never showed it a wit. He just went on with his business, tryin' ter keep it a secret."

Sarah thought about that as she walked down the streets of town in the fading twilight; was it really necessary for Jareth to torture himself like that? Was that why he'd sent her a dream of them dancing together? Was that _his_ dream of what they could be? She didn't even _know_ how she felt about him!

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw two imposing figures walking toward her down the walk. Her heart hammered when she remembered what Toby had said about two guys in black cloaks looking for her; through some magical instinct, she knew they were the ones.

"Man, what a lucky break!" said one of them, "I guess we can leave the boy alone now that she's here!"

_'Oh, gosh,'_ she thought with dread as she took a slow step back. Something rolled against her heel with a small _tink!_ Sarah spun her head back and picked it up; it was one of his crystals! Her heart beat faster with wild hope.

He _was _here, somewhere!

Then his voice, with its calm smoothness and amused sarcasm, sounded in her head.

_"Sarah…"_ Her breath caught and she stared wide-eyed at the crystal in her white-knuckled fist.

"Jareth?" she whispered before whipping her head back up to the two figures.

_"Listen carefully, Sarah,"_ said his voice, _"Smash the crystal at your feet and run as fast as you can. Now!"_

With a small cry of effort, Sarah raised the crystal overhead and hurled it to the ground; a red cloud exploded in gold sparks between her and the two men. Sarah turned on her heel and ran.

She looked back briefly and her heart jumped to her throat; they were giving chase!

"After her!" she heard one say, "Don't let her get away!" She cried out in alarm and ran faster.

"It didn't work, Jareth!" she shouted as she turned a corner, "Help me!"

_"You have the power to call me, Sarah,"_ he said in her mind, _"You just have to say the right words."_

"Darn it, Jareth! My life is at stake!" she yelled.

_"Then I suggest you use them __quickly__,"_ he said with what must have been a smile, then seriously, _"Use your words, Sarah. I can't come save you unless you say the words."_ She turned down an alleyway, like any idiot being chased by mysterious figures would, and stopped at the entrance.

"The right words…" she panted, bent over against a side wall with her hair curtaining her face, "the right words…" She peeked up to see them slowly approaching.

_'WHAT __ARE__ THE RIGHT WORDS?'_ she screamed in her head.

Then she remembered.

"I wish…" The words fell from her lips, stopping her pursuers in their tracks with sharp gasps (one of them cursed). She kept her right hand to the wall and slowly backed away a bit. She was shaking, so she blurted out the words before her voice could fail her.

"I WISH THE GOBLIN KING WOULD COME AND SAVE ME!" she yelled in a rush, "RIGHT NOW!"

A rush of wind knocked her sideways against the wall and she covered her head as best she could; her hair flew around her and the wind died down a little. Nothing was happening, so she tentatively looked up; the two guys were further away from her now, their red eyes wide with fear. She had glitter on one of her arms and felt something flapping behind her. She slowly looked up behind her to see what they were afraid of and there he was—his hand leaning against the wall so h is arm was behind her neck, his other fist resting on his hip, his black cloak billowing behind them, the ruffles of his white shirt barely moving in the wind, a smile of cold amusement playing across his lips while his eyes conveyed something different entirely, glued to the figures in front of them.

"Good evening, gentlemen," he greeted with his tone of smooth irony, his head cocked to the side, "Lovely night for a stroll, isn't it?"

* * *

If anyone had told Sarah previously that one day she'd be glad for the company of a baby-snatching man that ruled goblins, she would have called the guys in white. If it had been _Toby,_ she might have believed him—but even in her wildest dreams (which is saying a lot) she never imagined to feel such overwhelming relief from the presence of the man towering beside her.

Even though she stared at him, he gave her no visible sign of acknowledgment; she decided to keep quiet and see what he did.

"Greetings to you, King of the Goblins," said one of the figures as he bowed briefly, "What brings Your Majesty to the mortal realm on such a lovely night?"

"I could ask you the same, gargoyle," he replied coolly, "What brings the two of _you_ so far from home, chasing young girls in the dark streets? Don't tell me your master's run short of torture victims."

Sarah's throat constricted; _torture victims?_ His arm moved closer to her neck so that his sleeve barely brushed against her hair reassuringly.

"Our master's business is his own," replied the gargoyle, "We do not question his orders…which involve this girl."

"Now that, my good man, is where you're at a disadvantage," Jareth told them as he fingered a lock of Sarah's hair, "You see, if you'd bothered to make any inquiries—even just for clarification—you would have discovered that this particular girl happens to be under the protection of the Goblin King." He started moving a crystal nonchalantly along the tops of his fingers in rounds. "You wouldn't want to incur my extreme displeasure by harming her, now would you?"

"If we were your subjects, of course not," the gargoyle answered cheekily, "but we are not goblins, King Jareth. We do not serve you."

His eyes were on his crystal, but Sarah could tell they had turned dangers and she wondered why she was the only one who could hear the thundering of her heart, which had worsened when Jareth touched her hair.

"Too true," he said regrettably, "You do not serve me. You're not even that high of rank, are you?"

"Precisely," said the guy, "We are scout captains used for reconnaissance, hardly a threat to Your Majesty."

"Yes," Jareth mused, "not high at all. So…if you were to harm so much as a hair of this girl's head…and I were to, say, _kill_ you…" He held the crystal delicately in his fingertips. "…do you think your master would lose a wink of sleep if I sent him your ashes with my regards?"

Sarah could see ripped, muscular chests under those cloaks and whips and battle axes hanging on their massive belts, the buckles of which had their names in giant letters like Texas cowboys. She was glad that between herself and the Goblin King, at least _he_ was able to keep a cool head. As brave and quick-witted as she was, these two monsters _terrified_ her! It took sheer force of will to keep her standing still, instead of huddling against him like a frightened child.

Jareth half-smiled, like a clever fox having mercy on a hare that knew full well it could change its mind.

"I thought not." He tossed the crystal in the air, caught it like a baseball, and tucked it away behind himself.

"Now, then," he said as he pushed against the wall and stood up straight, "I'll tell you what I _am_ going to do: I'm going to take this young lady on my arm and we are going to turn around quietly and walk away. Be warned: Every one gargoyle that pursues us will be felled and burnt by three goblins and if I find any of your lot still lurking about tonight, I'll kill both of you myself! You had just better pray for an honorable death in battle at my hands, because if _**I**_ don't kill you, your master certainly will, and I promise you he will not be merciful."

_'I'd listen if I were you,'_ Sarah thought, _'He's a man of his word.'_

"Sarah…" he said carefully, still watching the gargoyles as he bent his arm for her, "take my arm." She moved closer to him and slipped her fingers into the crook of his elbow; she felt so safe with him, it amazed her! The softness of his billowy shirt belied a strong arm prepared to guide her out of the dark and the terror and, if need be, prepared to slay a gargoyle to protect her (which would have been romantic if they weren't actually _facing_ gargoyles). He smiled menacingly at them once more.

"Good night, gentlemen," he said as he turned himself and the girl around in a cape-sweeping wave of glitter, "Do give my best to Jathan."

As they walked away with their backs to the gargoyles, Sarah clutched Jareth's arm with both hands curled around it, her heart pounding hard enough to measure on the Richter scale. Jareth seemed to hear it and chuckled but said nothing about it. Sarah was nervous, to say the least; they had just turned their backs on two six-packed, ax-toting gargoyles, maybe with legions more under them. What was Jareth _thinking?_

She gasped with a small choke and jumped slightly to hear a roar followed by a wave of small gargoyles rushing at them from the other end of the alley; Jareth chuckled again shortly.

"Those fools," he murmured, "Take it from me, Sarah: Never associate with gargoyles; they're much too proud for their own good. No worries, though; once I get you safely away, my goblins will take care of this riffraff. This way."

They took a sharp right turn down another alley and picked up a swift pace akin to a power stride for Jareth and a trot for Sarah. More gargoyles chased them from behind and in front. They were trapped; Sarah and the King were running straight at them!

"Tell me, Sarah," said the king, "Do you have a particular fear of heights?"

"No," she gasped. She was no more afraid than anyone _else_ usually was.

"Good." He grabbed her left hand with his own, wrapped his right arm tightly around her waist, and told her to hold on. Then he jumped, causing the gargoyles to collide head-on.

When they jumped, they shot straight up into the sky like a rocket and stayed airborn long after their zenith; now Sarah's heart pounded hard enough to _break_ the Richter scale! Were they _flying?_

"Honestly, Sarah," he chuckled, "How do you manage your daily survival with a heart rate like that? Come come, now; put your feet down. Or have you forgotten how to walk?"

"Oh" was all she could say as she looked down. Jareth was literally waling on air! He smiled, obviously amused by her reaction.

"You don't expect me to do this myself, do you?" he said, "Just follow my step." Sarah watched his feet and fell into step with him. She laughed, half from relief and half from how _cool_ this was!

"There now, you see?" he said gently, "Easy as walking on the ground! Only difference is that there's no ground, and the air is much more exciting, I find. How does it feel?" He watched her face, holding both her hands now.

"It's incredible!" she said breathlessly as she looked at him. She wasn't going to be stupid and play coy with him when he was saving her life in the most unexpected manner she could possibly imagine. "I can't believe I'm really doing this!"

Jareth was almost caught off guard; her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks flushed, her hair wild in the night wind as the moonlight touched it to silver. She was smiling—at _him_—good goblins, if only she could've seen herself. He remembered when he would have given her the world for her to smile like that at him just once. Now she was walking the night with him, needing him, trusting him with her very life, gracing him with her smile! It was more than he'd dared to hope for.

They soon made a smooth descent to the small balcony of Sarah's room; he let her down gently, as if she was floating. He perched himself in a squat on the banister with one foot on the rail and hung his other leg behind it in the air. His cloak draped itself on his sides and hung behind. His right hand was on the rail; his left was still holding Sarah's.

"You're as beautifully light on your feet as I could ever have hoped," he said with a voice that hinted at an emotional meaning, "I've always dreamt of walking on air with you."

"Oh," she said, flustered, "Thank you…for saving me."

"My pleasure entirely," he said, "but I'm afraid the danger's not yet over. Our visitors failed to heed my warning and now I must keep my promise. Don't worry; no one will find you tonight."

"Please be careful," she said before she could stop herself. He chuckled.

"You grace me," he smiled, "And now, my dear Sarah, I need for you to go to bed and get some rest. Keep your windows locked and tell your brother not to worry."

"Sleep?" she said quietly, "After all that, I don't think I'll be able to."

"Then take this." He held a crystal out to her. "Hold it above your head and you'll sleep deeply and peacefully, protected by my magic. And…think about me, if you can." She looked at the crystal in her hand and then up at him; his eyes were averted from her. Was he embarrassed?

"I don't think that'll be a problem," she giggled, "not after all this. Thank you…Jareth. Um…" She slightly gripped his hand. "You are coming back, right?"

"Dearest Sarah," he smiled as he held her hand up, "I am in your home at hours you don't even know about."

"I know you've been visiting Toby," she said, clearly misunderstanding, "I'm not talking about him."

"Neither am I," he said, meeting her eyes intensely before quickly glancing sideways like he'd heard something.

"What? What is it?" she asked, looking around.

"Nothing for you to worry about," he dismissed, "Now go inside to bed and don't worry; where I was once your antagonist, I am now your protector. Understand?"

Her heart ached at the thought of him leaving (which surprised her), but his eyes asked for her trust.

Her fingers curled around his gloved hand.

"Yeah," she nodded, "okay." He smiled fondly at her.

"That's a good girl," he murmured as he kissed her hand. He then, very smoothly and swiftly, spun on his heel and dropped from her balcony with his arms spreading his cape out at his sides like wings. Sarah quickly leaned over to watch the barn owl fly off toward the streets where she'd been accosted. Her hair flew in front of her to the side as she watched him go.

"That is so not fair," she murmured as she looked at her left hand.

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
In case y'all are wondering, what's 'not fair' is that he charmed her over and just flew off like that; whoo! Is he smooth or what?

Okay, as I said, most of that was a big Howl spoof; specifically, Sarah getting knocked against the wall, being escorted down the alley, walking in the sky, and finally, her rescuer's swift departure, done to the spice of Labyrinth by yours truly! Cool, huh?

Oh, and Jareth being all like "do you think your master would care if I killed you" is akin to Princess Azula from Avatar.

And if anybody's wondering about the hawk that appeared at the end of the last chapter, that will be explained in chapter five. Until then, have fun and leave a review!


	5. Everything I Do, The Crystal Ballroom

Hola, hola, Coca-Cola! Pfft! Funny, huh? That's something a friend of mine likes to say a lot.

Didn't keep you waiting TOO long, did I? Well, here's chapter 4, which is even MORE romantic than the last chapter! Fellow fangirls, this one's for you! (Oh, and we're finishing up the Howl tribute in this one.)

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_"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."_—The Depressories Calendar 2009 (I bought it for next year!)

* * *

**Chapter 4: Everything I Do, The Crystal Ballroom**  
_The great curse of one's life is often being the bearer of bad news; what makes it worse is to bear it to someone you're close to. I know this is what must be done for my kingdom, but how will I ever tell Jareth? How will he react? What will he say? Oh, God help the foul traitor who captured Amalthea if ever I get my hands on him!_

* * *

Toby burst out of the window and rushed to his sister.

_"Sarah!"_ he cried as he hugged her tightly around her waist (which was a bit of a reach for him), "I saw you walking in the sky with the king! A goblin told me you were attacked by gargoyles! Are you all right?"

"So I _wasn't_ dreaming," she murmured as she looked at her crystal, "It really happened."

"Well heck, Sarah! _**I**_ could've told you _that!_" Toby frowned, "Did the Goblin King get you out safe?"

"Uh-huh," she nodded absentmindedly, "Come on, let's get to bed before something else happens."

In her room she was anxiously greeted by her three friends.

"Sarah!" Hoggle fretted, "Yer not hurt, are ye?"

"Good heavens, my lady!" piped Didymus, "Thou has wind in thy hair and stars in thine eyes! Hast thou been bewitched, that thou art so silent?"

"Sarah safe!" Ludo hugged her.

"Yes, Ludo, you're right," she smiled, "I'm okay. Have you all met Toby?"

"Yea, verily!" Didymus chirped, then muttered to Hoggle, "I say, Sir Hoggle, a word in thy private ear, if I may? Ambrosius, come! Excuse us, my lady!" He led Hoggle off to the side and they huddled together.

"What is it, Didymus?" said Hoggle impatiently, not done fretting over Sarah.

"Understand, Sir Hoggle, that I am a man of action," Didymus said quietly, "I haven't a keen eye for such things, and—well, the Bog of Stench is hardly a Lover's Lane, but…methinks the lady hath the look of Cupid's victim in her face!"

"What are you talkin' about?" said the dwarf.

"Methinks the king hath been the cause of our lady having stars in her eyes!" he hissed, "Methinks she's falling in love with the king!"

"What, _Jareth?_" said Hoggle incredulously, "Our Sarah, fallen for _Jareth?_ You've got fleas in your brain!"

"But think, Sir Hoggle!" he persisted, "She's just floated onto her balcony from a magical air walk with the aid of His Majesty Jareht, who hath gallantly rescued her from dangerous night creatures! I tell you, she's utterly enchanted by him!"

"Since when does a teenage girl become your personal soap opera?" Hoggle stormed, "I'm telling you, i-it's impossible, preposterous! She's probably just spooked from those gargoyles! Can't say I blame her; they give me the willies, they do."

As Hoggle hobbled off muttering to himself, Sir Didymus shook his head with a sigh. He could tell that deep down, Hoggle knew he was right. Hoggle had been closest to Sarah and Jareth both and he knew how Jareth felt about her, but Hoggle had the deepest of paternal affections for Sarah, and he did _not_ trust Jareth. He had doubts as to how Jareth would treat her as opposed to how he had once treated Hoggle. Didymus knew all that.

Ambrosius whined sympathetically and was pet on the head by his master.

"Yea, Ambrosius," he nodded, "'Tis a truth that will not be easy for our friend to accept."

While he and Hoggle had been having their discussion, Toby was interrogating Sarah about her attackers. She was sitting on the side of her bed and Toby stood in front of her with his hands on her knees, eager for details.

"Tell me, Sarah!" he bounced, "Were they anything like the guys in my dream?"

"They _were_ the guys in your dream, Toby," she confessed, "The cloaks, the axes, everything. I think they were the same two guys you fought with. They even said something about how they could leave 'the boy' alone now that they'd found me. I think that was you."

"Oh, no…" The boy's eyes widened fearfully. "They found you! This is terrible! We've gotta tell Jareth!"

"Toby, he already knows," she stopped him, "He and the goblins are taking care of it as we speak. They'll keep us safe."

"Are you sure?" Toby asked anxiously. He never doubted the goblins or their king, but he was terrified for his sister. Sarah met his eyes strongly.

"No one will find us tonight," she said as she touched his face, "Such is the word of the Goblin King." Her voice was soft but firm in faith and it calmed her brother. He nodded and she smiled. They both looked up quickly at the clap of thunder and rain spattered on the window panes of the door. Ambrosius crawled under the bed in a fit of yelps while Hoggle hurried over to the window door and locked it.

"Sounds like His Majesty's having fun out there," he laughed, "Must be washin' out the bodies by now."

"Ew!" said Sarah.

"Cool!" said Toby.

"Ambrosius, come out from under there this minute!" scolded Didymus.

"Guys, it's bedtime," Sarah said, "I'm tired and you, little prince, have been up way too long."

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" he asked, "Just to make sure no one tries to take you away?"

"I'll be fine, Toby," she smiled, "but if it'll make you feel better, okay." She changed into her PJs in the bathroom—a long T-shirt and pants—and settled into her bed with Toby, who had Lancelot in his arms…and Jareth's crystal in his hands!

"What'd he give you _this_ for, Sarah?" he asked curiously, trying to look through it. She blushed profusely and took it back.

"A sleeping aid," she answered as she laid down, "in case I can't sleep from all the excitement."

"Hmph," Hoggle said, "Just you be careful what you take from Jareth. Don't forget what happened last time." (Oh, look who's talking!)

"Last time he was trying to keep me out of his castle," Sarah smiled at him, "This time he's trying to protect me." She held the crystal above her head between her thumb and forefinger; the broken reflection of the moonlight and raindrops caught on the round edge and shone with ethereal luster.

"What'll it do?" Toby murmured in awe as he stared up at it with his head on her shoulder. She smiled serenely and mysteriously.

"Just watch," she whispered as she slowly let go. It slowly revolved in the air with all colors of the rain bow glinting on its edges and swimming across its surface.

"It's so pretty," Toby slurred sleepily, "Just like Glinda, the Good Witch." Sarah sighed contentedly, the crystal's magic wafting around her like perfume, lulling her into a state of absolute trust in the giver of the gift.

* * *

In her dream, she was standing in another ballroom party with the difference being that _this_ ballroom was more spacious and more brightly lit. It resembled the ballroom of Captain Von Trapp from _The Sound of Music_ with the wall of windows and balcony from _Beauty and the Beast._ Another difference (one that made Sarah feel more comfortable) was that none of the partygoers were champagne-soaked adults in goblin masks; instead they were all bare-faced teenagers like her, ranging between 15 and 18, all dressed in the most elegant ball formals. They were polite and refined, a major step up from her usual society. The one thing that remained the same from her last dream ball was her dress; it was the same giant, poofy white dress she'd worn the last time, and her hair and jewelry were the same, too. In a way, it comforted her. It was as if the Goblin King was using symbolism to tell her that, like her outfit, his feelings for her hadn't changed.

She looked up at the young man beside her and did a double-take.

"Toby!" she gasped. He smiled at her; he was a tall, handsome young man somewhere between 16 and 18. He was wearing a blue-coated costume similar to the prince from _Beauty and the Beast_ (or like Patrick Dempsey from _Enchanted_). His sandy hair was still shaggy and curved around his face, which was the face of a warrior. He had a rapier sword on his side to prove it.

"Surprised?" he asked with an older voice with a background of his usual sunshine.

"You're…you're…" She couldn't come up with a proper way to express how flabbergasted she was. He laughed.

"Yeah, I know," he said with an arm around her, "I'm a handsome devil, aren't I? But look at you! You look beautiful! Is that what you wore when you ate that peach?"

"Yeah," she nodded. Toby whistled.

"No wonder Jareth danced with you," he said appreciatively, "You look like an angel, Sarah. I bet we're the best-looking couple here, and we're not even a couple!"

"Excuse me, sir," said an angelic voice, "Might I have the Landler?"

Sarah heard and saw Toby gulp; the gorgeous owner of that voice was a sixteen-year-old version of none other than strawberry blonde, blue-eyed Molly Stevens! (The girl he yelled at in chapter one!) Sarah looked at her brother with an amused smile. He held up a dance card, recovering his swank.

"A thousand apologies, miss," he said, "but I've already promised the Landler to my sister. Perhaps the first waltz?"

"I'd love to," she curtsied, "That's so sweet that you dance with your sister! I wish _my_ brother danced with me!"

"Until later, then," he bowed and took Sarah's elbow to walk off with her before his face turned red.

"Well, Toby," she smiled, highly amused, "Either Jareth's magic is that good, or you have a very futuristic imagination!" Toby's face was blood-red as they got in line for the Landler dance (for those of you who don't know, that's the dance from _The Sound of Music_…unless I'm spelling it wrong.)

"Sorry," he said as they danced, "You probably weren't supposed to see that."

"I think it's sweet," she objected, "It's cute to have a crush at your age! I assume you've apologized to her?"

"Yeah, I went to her house while you were gone," he said, "It's funny, though; she said the strangest thing. She told me she wasn't crying because I yelled at her. She said she cried because the things I said about her character made her feel so sorry for her. She said she understands her better now; she even sang part of 'Memory' for me."

"And…?" Sarah prompted with a smile as the girls walked around their partners while the boys clapped rhythmically.

"Boy, she wasn't lying," Toby said, taking her hand, "Let's just say she'll blow everyone away." Sarah grinned at how cute he was and they continued the dance.

After it was over and everyone applauded, the lights dimmed down to a soft glow and a huge disco ball—of _all_ things—was lit up. It was strange, but was also a dream, so it was okay. The intro was starting up to Bryan Adams' "Everything I Do."

"Excuse me, young man," said a smooth, familiar voice, "Mind if I cut in?" Toby gave a crooked smile of amusement; Jareth was right next to Sarah!

"Not at all, Your Majesty," he bowed, "so long as I get her back in one piece! Be nice to him, Sarah; he did save your life!"

He scampered off laughing—probably to find Molly, Sarah guessed. She turned to look at Jareth; he was wearing the same outfit he'd worn in the first dream, too! He looked breathtaking in the dim lighting and the dappled lights of the disco ball, which made the glitter in his suit sparkle like stars that had just exploded in a dazzling shimmer. He must have been thinking the same thing about her, because the way he was smiling at her with such soft eyes touched Sarah in the secret corners of her heart, which was where the butterflies came from and flew to her stomach.

_Look into my eyes  
You will see  
what you mean to me_

"Shall we dance?" he asked softly as he held out his hand to her; speechless, she took it and let him lead her to the dance floor, neither one of them looking away.

_Search your heart  
Search your soul  
And when you find me there,  
you'll search no more_

"In case you were wondering," he said as they danced, "I really am here."

"Huh?" she asked.

"I'm no dream," he clarified, "Those pesky gargoyles have been taken care of, so I decided to join the party."

"You're not sleeping in my room _too_, are you?" she blurted in alarm.

"Of course not, you silly girl," he chuckled, "All of me is here: Body, mind, and heart."

_Don't tell me  
it's not worth trying for  
You can't tell me  
it's not worth dying for_

_"You know it's true," _Jareth sang along so only she could hear, _"Everything I do…I do it for you."_ Begging herself not to cry, Sarah smiled and danced with him through the whole song; they moved as smoothly and gracefully as they had the first time they danced together. Sarah couldn't yet put a name to what was happening to her, but she did know how he made her feel when he came to her. "Safe," was definitely one accurate label; she'd figure out the rest later. For now, she was content to dance in his arms and her brother's—the two men who loved her the most.

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Awwww, how adorably sweet!

By the way, this chapter is a special dedication to anyone on YouTube who may have done a video of this couple to that song! I did find one once, but now I can't find it. So if you've done a video like that, let me know so I can praise your work! ^_^

Kudos for Sir Didymus, huh? For a guy with one working eye, he sure hits the nail on the head!

STAY TUNED FOR A REVEALING CHAPTER FIVE!!!


	6. Lovely

Thanks for your patience and lovely reviews, my lovely readers! Why am I repeating the word "lovely"? Eh, you'll see…

* * *

_"The key to victory is to find your enemy's weakness and make him suffer for it."_—Dustin Hoffman as Master Shifu, _Kung Fu Panda_

* * *

**Chapter 5: Lovely**  
_"On your knees, girl," the guard ordered, "to the king of the gargoyles!"_

"_I most certainly will_ _not!" the girl protested, "I bow only to kings who are men of honor!" A stone-like hand struck her in the face, knocking her to the ground._

_"Ah!" she cried indignantly, "You dare to strike a unicorn? I'll have my horn to you for such disrespect!"_

_"And I'll have my whip to you if you don't pipe down in His Majesty's presence!" he stormed, "Your Highness…"_

_With careless and arrogant swagger, the king descended the stone steps into the cell, shuffling a deck of cards, and knelt to the humanoid. He took her chin, but she swatted it with her horn._

_"Don't you dare touch me!" she hissed, "You foul, evil, miserable little cockroach!"_

_"Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk," he shook his head, "Such coarse language from such a magnificent creature. I thought unicorns were supposed to be gentle."_

_"Only to those with gentle intentions," the girl spat, "Now tell me: What do you want with me?"_

_"Oh, nothing from you personally, I assure you." He stood. "I'm merely putting an old adage to practice."_

_"What adage?" she asked incredulously. An evil smile crossed his lips._

_"You catch more bees with honey," he said, "And you, my dear, are the honey." She gasped in shock._

_"What?" she uttered, "Not only do you capture a unicorn, but you add insult to injury by using me as a pawn in your sick, twisted game?"_

_"By George, I think she's got it," the king replied as he turned to leave._

_"You fiend!" she screamed, "You vile, treacherous devil! Release me from these chains and face me like a man, you heartless snake!"_

_"Don't hurt her too much," he murmured to the guard, "Just enough to shut her up." He exited the cell to the echoing cry of pain as the delicate maiden took a kick to the stomach. She lay on her side in a fetal curl, choking to regain her breath._

_"Save me…" she gasped, "…my queen."_

* * *

Sarah woke to the inviting sounds of birdsong and dewdrops dripping from the ceiling (outside) as the morning rays slid through her window and shone gloriously on Merlin's fur. Toby was still out cold, his face beautifully peaceful. She smiled at him and slipped out of bed to start her morning routine. Hoggle and the others were gone, as they always were in the morning. They stayed up all night watching her and deserved their rest.

She changed clothes and pushed open the curtains to see the gorgeous barn owl perched on the stone balcony railing, looking around alertly with quick turns of the head. The dawnlight washed his white feathers in gold and his brown ones in copper.

_'He's still standing guard for me,'_ she thought emotionally before unlocking the door to walk out to him. He looked at her and blinked. She giggled a bit.

"Good morning," she said as she stroked his head. The owl closed his eyes and hooted happily, which made her giggle again.

"Do you want to come in?" she invited, "It's kinda chilly out here." The owl cocked his head to the side as if to say, "Chilly? What do you think I have feathers for?"

"You see," she said, "I feel kinda bad that you stood guard all night and put yourself at risk just for me and Toby. Didn't you sleep at all?"

He fluffed out his chest and ruffled his wings in a show of bravado. He seemed to be saying "I can handle it. It's a piece of cake." Sarah seemed to understand him and frowned with her arms folded.

"Do you want me to feel guilty?" she said, "I'm trying to thank you for helping me last night. And…I had fun dancing with you. It made me feel…safe…like nothing could hurt me. I just wanted to thank you for that." The owl blinked slowly at her, then perched on her shoulder and hooted again.

"That's what I thought," smiled Sarah as she walked back inside, "Just make sure to keep quiet so my parents don't wake up." She held her fingers to his beak and he softly nipped it like any other owl. He was such a pretty bird that she rubbed the side of her head against his soft plumage, almost forgetting he wasn't just an owl. She closed her eyes for a second and murmured, _"I would not for the __world__ they saw thee here."_ She then blushed when she realized she'd just quoted Romeo and Juliet!

"Um…" she stuttered, "…th-that is, uh…" The owl pressed his head against hers and hooted softly and Jareth's voice sounded clearly in her mind.

_"I have night's cloak to hide me from their sight."_ Now Sarah _was_ embarrassed: That line was Romeo's reply to Juliet!

"Okay, okay," she said as she took him off her shoulder and set him on the kitchen table, "Stay there; I'll find us something to eat."

The truth was she was in a bit of an emotional sweat; had she been any other girl, she would have called ridiculous the idea of being sweet-talked by a bird that could talk to your brain and then blushing about it like a schoolgirl. She could just imagine Jareth right now; he was laughing at her, she just knew it.

_'That' man's going to send me to the Funny Farm!'_ she thought with her head in the fridge. Her thoughts stopped when she heard the sound of someone eating behind her to the left. She slowly started to turn around.

"Simply delicious," said a woman's British-accented voice, half-full of food, "Amazing what you mortals can put into such a small package, isn't it?"

As if of its own will, Sarah's back magnetized itself to the fridge when she saw a woman sitting Indian style on their bar countertop with a bowl and chopsticks in her hands. She looked just a couple of years younger than Jareth; she had black hair that was short but shaggy and curved down her head to barely touch the top of her neck. Her eyes were both deep, dark, and glittering—one blue, one green, the blue one on the right like Jareth's. Her lips were smooth and pink, her skin an attractive pallor. She was wearing an outfit very similar to Jareth's: A puffy white shirt (but with a higher chest so nothing showed), tight black cotton pants, ladies' riding boots, no gloves, a black traveling cape that reached her bottom, and a medallion exactly like the one Jareth wore, only with a dark emerald in the top. She also wore dark emerald pendulums on her ears, supported by tiny gold hoops. Her voice was hard-sounding and flinty, like a British woman in her mid-40's, but with a golden bell quality that suggested a careless, happy-go-lucky nature (I'm thinking Emma Thompson from _Stranger Than Fiction_).

"Who the heck are you?" Sarah asked with as much volume as she dared in a house of sleeping people. The woman looked to the doorway (which was to her right) with a smile and her eyes lit up.

"Why, Jarry!" she piped and swung her legs off the counter, "How wonderful to see you again! Lovely morning, isn't it?"

Sarah looked and saw Jareth leaning his forearm on the doorway, wearing his leather jacket outfit and smiling pleasantly enough.

"You're looking very well, Jem," he said with a surprisingly affectionate tone that made Sarah curious.

"You know her?" she asked presumably.

"I should think so," Jareth answered as he walked to her and pointed his hand toward the woman with his hand across Sarah's shoulders, "Allow me to introduce you to Jemna, Queen of the Elf Kingdom of Amarantha, first-born of King Edworth of the Dragon City, in which she is still known as a princess…and…my sister."

Sarah did a double take at him.

"You have a _sister?_" she gawked. Jemna laughed.

"Well don't you see the family resemblance?" she asked.

"Only in your choice of clothes, I'm afraid," Sarah said truthfully, which made Jemna laugh again and hop off the counter to lean back on it. She got out a lighter and what looked like a purple cigarette.

"Do you mind terribly if I smoke?" she asked.

"I don't know if you want to do that in here," Sarah answered nervously, "My parents…"

"Oh, don't worry, love," said the queen, "These aren't cigarettes, not like those nasty things you mortals make. This is a flowerette; it's made out of flowers! No less habit-forming, but not harmful to your health, either. I don't recommend it, though; they're not very ladylike."

She took a drag and released a cloud of purple smoke that smelled like violets to prove her point; she then sauntered over to Sarah and Jareth. She bent over to look at her.

"And you must be Sarah," she smiled as she held the girl's chin to her annoyance, "My, my! What a lovely lady you have here, Jarry! Young, strong, innocent—oh, she _is_ lovely!"

"Do you mind?" Sarah said rudely and shook her head from Jemna's hand, "I'm not a two-year-old!" Jemna looked surprised for a second.

"And feisty, too!" she laughed and straightened back up, "Ha, ha, ha! She's adorable, Jareth! Wherever did you pick up this lovely creature?"

Sarah sensed Jareth was trying not to show his embarrassment.

"Jemna," he rolled his eyes, "what _are_ you doing here?"

"Now is that any way to speak to your own dear sister?" she responded, "They've taught you no manners in the Goblin City, have they, Jarry? Oh, and speaking of goblins, how is that dear old dwarf of yours, Hedgeway?"

"Haggard," Jareth mis-corrected.

"Hoggle!" Sarah corrected.

"Whatever." Jemna waved her flowerette hand dismissively and hopped back on the counter with her bowl. "These pre-packaged noodles are delectable, Sarah! What do you call these?"

"(…) Ramen," Sarah shrugged.

"Hmm," nodded the queen, "I've had your fancy mortal cuisine before, but sometimes the simplest things are the best. Lovely." She took another puff of her violet.

"Have you come to critique the pantry of the average mortal, or are you here for a reason?" Jareth asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh, tut-tut, Jarry," she beamed and petted him on the head condescendingly, "Can't I come and visit my sweet baby brother once in a while?"

"_Baby_ brother?" Sarah piped, "You mean you're older?"

"First-born of King Edworth, remember?" Jemna winked, "I know, I don't look older. Many have mistaken me for younger. But what's this?"

She leaned over to the side with a curiously cocked eyebrow, looking between Jareth and Sarah. Sarah turned around and gasped with horror; red-faced, bags under his hollow eyes, hair in disarray, dripping with sweat, Toby was clinging desperately to the doorway to keep from falling to his knees.

"Sarah…" he croaked, then looked at Jareth. His eyes widened and he reached his little hand out.

"Jareth!" he rasped and staggered forward, "They came back! They were different ones, but they came back! I…can't…" His eyes rolled back and he swooned on the spot. He fell forward, but Jareth swept over and caught him.

"TOBY!" Sarah freaked out as she ran to him, "Toby, wake up! Oh, my gosh, he's burning up! We've got to take him to the hospital! Give him here, I've got to get my parents!"

Jareth reluctantly handed the child to his sister wrapped in the Goblin King's leather jacket. She looked up at him for a moment with half fear and half gratitude, then glanced at Jemna before carrying her precious brother out of the kitchen, making a dash upstairs to her parents' room. Jareth and Jemna stared after her; Jemna could tell her brother was making a monumental effort not to run after them and it made her a little curious, but she decided to save it for later.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you, Jem?" he asked, his eyes intensely fixed on her. She exhaled a cloud of violet.

"What should I know about a mortal boy with a fever?" she shrugged, "What is he to you, anyway? Or is that the baby you took?"

"The same," he said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to see how he is. I suggest, dear sister, that you accompany me."

"Gladly," she smiled as she took one more drag and snuffed out her flowerette, "I've nothing else to do and I've always wanted to meet your little goblin prince…and your princess." His eyes turned dark and he strode toward the kitchen door.

"She's not my princess," he said shortly as he swept past her, making her cape flap slightly. She knew she'd touched a nerve and she quickly followed him in fast flight to the hospital as Sarah burst into her parents' room with Toby in her arms.

"DAD, IRENE! WAKE UP!" she yelled, "Toby is sick! We need to go to the Emergency Room!"

* * *

"Sarah, I've got to talk to Jareth," Toby said later, "Can you find him for me?"

"I think you need to rest now, Toby," she said gently as she stroked his hair, "You're lucky you're not seriously sick." It was true; as inexplicable as the fainting spell was, it was attributed to the high fever of 104 degrees. Toby was now safe in bed at home with Sarah at his bedside and his mother making him soup and compresses and making sure he took his medicine.

"Sarah, it's important," Toby insisted, "I know what happened to me." He glanced to his right. "There you are."

Sarah looked and saw Jareth leaning back against the wall with another smile on his face. He had his jacket back on, too.

"Of course here I am," he said as he walked to the bed across from Sarah, "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I fought another couple of gargoyle scouts earlier this morning, probably after Sarah got up," he got to the point, "They were the same as the first couple, but they fought harder. We paused for a second and one of them told me, _'Guide us to her dreams or suffer the wrath of the Gargoyle King.'_ But I wouldn't, so this human-looking guy with red eyes came up and stared at me. I felt like a hot hand had slapped me in the face, but I didn't give up. I stood my ground and fought back until he and the gargoyles ran away. But I was so weak and tired from the fight and my head felt so hot. That's how I woke up, too. I don't understand, Jareth; what's going on? Why are gargoyles trying to spy on my sister?"

"Precisely what I'd like to know!" Hoggle spoke up, having mysteriously popped up from nowhere next to Sarah. Jareth shot him one of those sideways glances of quiet hostility.

"Er…" Hoggle faltered, "That is, if Your Majesty pleases." Jareth looked up to see his own sister leaning by the window. This little gathering irked him.

"I should prefer not to have a public audience, if you don't mind," he said.

"I'm not leaving Toby," Sarah glared.

"And I ain't leavin' Sarah," Hoggle agreed.

"Ludo stay Sarah," Ludo added.

"Ambrosius and I shall stand guard outside the door," Sir Didymus volunteered.

"Hmph," Jemna sniffed, "If you want me gone, I'm gone. But I'll be waiting for you, Jarry; these two children aren't the only ones who've been hurt by the Gargoyle King, so don't keep me waiting too long."

She seemed cross and distracted as she swooped out of Toby's window as a beautiful gold and white hawk with a green diamond shape on her head.

"What's wrong with her?" Sarah asked curiously.

"She'll get over it," Jareth said dismissively, "Now then, Toby…I believe you asked me a question."

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
The truth is Jareth doesn't have a clue why his sister's here…which is why he asked. :S Never mind.

Why does Jemna seem so ticked off? Hmm…Eh, you know you'll find out.

The only references I can come up with this time are the Romeo and Juliet lines, and I should explain Jemna's character model. Imagine Enya, only a bit shorter, with messier hair (like the front of her "A Day Without Rain" album) and with Emma Thompson's voice from "Stranger Than Fiction," complete with attitude and smoking habit (the flowerette is an original idea!).

Oh, and the unicorn/maiden calling the king a "foul, evil, miserable little cockroach" is from Hermione in _Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_, the 3rd movie.

Hope you liked it! Leave a review! Love y'all!


	7. Clouds of Smoke

Well, it's that time of year again! Santa Claus, Frosty, all those wonderful Rankin/Bass movies that charm children of all ages, and lots and lots of SHOPPING! That's right, buddies: IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME!!!! (Not 'Holiday,' Christmas!)

I'm so sorry I didn't get to do a Christmas fic this year, but anyone who's a Teen Titans fan can check out my story, "The Titans' Christmas Miracle!" It's pretty cool, I think! I wrote it in '05 or something like that. Anyway, here's my (snort) "carefully" selected Christmas quote. Please enjoy this chapter and have a very Merry Christmas (or Chanukah, or whatever you happen to celebrate.)

* * *

_"I shall return for you, my love, on Christmas Day."_—Dido, _Christmas Day_ (one of my fave Christmas songs, 'cause I'm a total sap)

* * *

**Chapter 6: Clouds of Smoke**  
_My scouts have failed to take their posts within her dreams and the boy is stronger than I accounted for. It makes me curious. Why can't I find the girl? What is she to __**him?  
**__  
Luckily I have the unicorn, so I'll see her soon enough. And then…heh…we'll see._

"I don't know why the gargoyles are trying to invade Sarah's dreams," Jareth started as he sat backwards on the bed, "but I'll tell you all I know." All eyes were on the Goblin King and said more than their silent lips.

"Toby," he started, "this will come as no surprise to you, but you are a very special boy. You're unusually perceptive for your age, even without your powers."

"Powers?" Toby's eyes widened, "You mean like Sarah has?" Jareth nodded.

"You're my heir," he smiled, "Of course you're going to have powers of your own. You fought gargoyle scouts through your dreams protecting your sister. That is one of your powers. You kept them at bay and out of her dreams. It's true that Sarah has her friends and some goblins guarding her at all times, but the gargoyles seem to be using you as a loophole—or trying to. But you have tremendous magic within you, and they can't get past you."

"Then why did their king leave me like this?" Toby asked, "Why did he hit me so hard?"

"Because as powerful as you are," the king answered, "you're still a child. You can only do so much. The gargoyle king is an adult fae, like me and Jemna. He has more magic than you do—_far_ more—and he's dangerous. It disturbs me that he's come to you himself and in such wrath."

Sarah grabbed Toby's little hand in an overprotective impulse; Hoggle patted her arm reassuringly. Jareth couldn't look at either of them and Toby noticed it.

"Jareth," he asked as he placed his other hand on his friend's arm, "Who is the gargoyle king?" Jareth looked at Toby with dark eyes and turned his head away.

"If you don't tell them, Jareth," said Jemna, "I will." She was back in the room, leaning by the window again. Jareth spun his head back and stared daggers at her; it made Sarah jump a bit and she looked curiously at the Elf Queen, whose eyes were as intense as Jareth's were.

"Sarah," Jemna spoke up uninvited, "the gargoyle king is our brother."

"Blast it, Jemna!" Jareth snapped. Toby grabbed his hand to calm him down.

"Your brother?" Sarah switched between them, not sure who to ask. "How many of you _are_ there?"

"Three," Jemna answered promptly and walked over beside Sarah, "In my family there's myself, Jathan, and Jareth, in that order. I rule the elves, Jareth—as you know—rules the goblins, and…Jathan rules the gargoyles." She lit another flowerette, light blue this time.

"What does he want with Sarah?" Toby asked, still gripping Jareth's hand. Jemna released a cloud fragranced with impatiens.

"I don't know yet," she answered, "I may have said too much for a child like you to hear, but since you've been visited, you may as well know. I'm sorry if I've upset you."

"You didn't upset me, Your Majesty," Toby shook his head, "I'm glad you told me. It makes sense now."

"I wasn't talking to you that time, Toby," the queen replied, holding her flowerette up by her head. She was looking at Jareth and Sarah did, too; his head was turned from all of them, his wild yet soft hair acting as a thick curtain trying to conceal his emotional turmoil. Toby sat up slowly, scooted over to him, and hugged him around his arm. Jareth looked down at him and gently placed a hand on the child's head.

Sarah stood up and walked over to him; she wasn't sure how he'd interpret the gesture, but she wanted to make him feel better. She tentatively touched his shoulder and he looked up at her. Her hair was hanging over one side and she was smiling gently.

"You're not the first one to dislike your brother," she said quietly.

He stood up staring in her eyes, accepting her words of attempted comfort.

"At least yours is still an innocent child," he murmured before passing through her like a plane through a cloud; she felt his emotions as strongly as she could feel her own. He felt ashamed that her brother's attacker was his _own_ brother and increasingly annoyed that he was poking into his business by trying to get to her. She heard a question in her head from his own thoughts: _'Why is he doing this?'_

He was out the door before she could stop him; mesmerized, she turned to Jemna, as if the elf queen knew all the answers. Her light blue flowerette was between her first two fingers, positioned next to her head, its smoke waving upward like fire. Her eyes were full of wonder; she was obviously thinking, but what about?

"What?" Sarah blushed uncomfortably.

"Has he done that before?" asked the queen as she placed her flowerette in her mouth.

"Yeah," Sarah answered casually, "So?" Jemna removed her flowerette and exhaled.

"Nothing, it's just…interesting," she answered, "I've never seen him pass through a soul before. Now, then…" She put her flowerette in her mouth and strode to Toby's bedside, removing a pendulum necklace just like her earrings on a long gold chain.

"Toby," she asked, holding the chain at opposite ends, "How would you like me to break that nasty little fever of yours?"

"I don't have to forget about anybody, do I?" he responded.

"What?" Jemna asked.

"Nothing," said Toby, "Yes, please." Jemna shook her head in a "whatever" manner and hung the sharp pendulum over his nose with one hand.

"Lie still," she instructed, "and recite something to me." The pendulum spun faster and faster until it whirred like a top; Toby could feel the fever drawing to his nose as he murmured another Shakespeare quote.

_"Now is the winter of our discontent  
made glorious summer by this sun of York  
and all the clouds that lowr'd upon our houses  
in the deep bosom of the ocean buried."_

By the time he was done, the last warm ray of his fever had been soaked up by the magic pendulum; it was red now. Jemna snapped it back up by pulling the chain taut; the chain disappeared on impact, leaving the pendulum in mid-air. The queen slowly moved her hands in on it on opposite sides like she was trying to catch a fly or kill a mosquito while it turned over and over on its side like clock hands. The closer her hands came, the faster it turned, until her hands cupped together. When she opened them again, the glowing red pendulum was gone. Toby, Sarah, and Ludo applauded her.

"You'll feel a little clammy for a while, but that'll go a way, too," she smiled as she removed her right earring, "Let's take your temperature, shall we?"

She pressed her pendulum earring to the center of his forehead on its bottom slant.

"97.5," she nodded, satisfied, "Perfect. You've been a lovely patient, little prince. I daresay you're fit to play with your dog outside!"

"Awesome!" Toby piped and kicked back the covers to shake her hand. "Thank you very much, Queen Jemna! I can't wait to show Mama!"

"Toby, wait!" Sarah said, then shook her head.

"He's a lively chap, he is," Jemna said, "Eh, Hogsmeade?"

"Hoggle! It's Hoggle!" the dwarf shouted and hopped up and down, "You're as bad as Jareth!" Sarah looked up at Jemna.

"You're Highness?" she said.

"Call me Jemna," said the queen.

"Jemna," said Sarah, "There is one thing you haven't told me…Your brother, Jathan…How come he can't find me?" Jemna looked at her for a moment, then released another blue cloud of smoke.

"Can you see me?" she asked.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because of the smoke."

"Exactly," the queen smiled, "The reason Jathan cannot find you is because you are too strongly protected by Jareth; his magic surrounds you like a cloud of smoke, hiding you from sight of danger." She fingered Sarah's hair thoughtfully. "You'd better see to your brother." Sarah nodded and left.

"My lady, that was generous of you to heal young Toby," said Sir Didymus, "Wilt thou be staying with us long?"

"Hopefully I'll be leaving tomorrow, Sir Didymus," she said, "I have urgent matters to discuss with my brother, if I can get him away from Sarah for longer than two minutes."

"Hmm," he nodded, "A task not easily accomplished, I find."

"Eh, shut up, Didymus!" Hoggle glowered and stomped off to grumble.

"Is he jealous?" Jemna asked quietly.

"No more than her father would be under like circumstances, Your Highness," he answered.

"I'd better go find Jarry," she sighed in a puff of blue smoke, "Do keep watch, won't you?"

"Certainly, good queen!" chirped the knight, "Everything's under control!" He went over to the window with Hoggle and looked out to the front yard, where Toby was chasing Merlin and trying to ride him.

"C'mon, Merlin!" Toby whined, "You're supposed to be Ambrosius! Come back!"

"I say, that's a very good impression of you, Ambrosius," Didymus muttered humorously.

"Here, Toby!" said Sarah, "I'll be Ambrosius!" Toby climbed on her piggyback style and yelled, "Charge!"

"But Sir Didymus!" Sarah smiled, "We're surrounded by scary goblins! Awoo!"

"Come come now, Ambrosius!" said Toby, imitating Didymus, "There's a treat in it for you!"

"If you say so, brave knight," replied Sarah, and she ran around with him, being watched by two birds in a tree—the owl and the hawk.

_'You passed through her soul, and not for the first time, I'm told,'_ thought the hawk to the owl, _'Does she know what that means?'_

An abrupt takeoff was the owl's only reply; the girl was a touchier subject than the hawk thought.

_'Hm,'_ she thought to herself, _'Guess not.'_ She watched Sarah and Toby playing happily in the yard together, her gaze intense.

_'Blast it, Jathan!'_ she thought frustratingly, _'What are you playing at?'_

* * *

**Author's Review****:  
**Don't worry; Jathan's identity will be revealed in the next four chapters or so. Patience, please!

Let's see, references…

Toby's little recitation was the first soliloquy from Shakespeare's _Richard III_; it's one of my favorites! Well-read for a 5-year-old, isn't he?

His temperature of 97.5 is a tribute to my favorite radio station!

Jareth's passing through Sarah (as you all know) is the same thing he did in the movie and will be explained in the next chapter. I'm gonna make it really cute! ;)

And I think that's it for this one. Once again, your humble servant wishes you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! As a Christmas bonus, here's another Christmas quote!

* * *

_"Going for a new recreational saucer sled land speed record: Clark W. Griswold, Jr.!"—_Clark Griswold, _National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation_

* * *


	8. Jareth's Precious Thing

Hi-ho, everyone! This is your friendly neighborhood fan fiction author in the middle of some miserable January weather; well, what'd you expect? I've always hated January; it's so bleh! The only month with worse weather than that is February. It's the bleakest month of the year, even with Valentine's Day and all that. The weather's just atrocious!

But I didn't come here to complain; y'all want an update, right? Okay; (crack knuckles) here we go! By the way, Jareth wears his black outfit in this chapter. Squee!

* * *

_"How do you like that? I'm not on the job five minutes and already she's making advances to me."—_Groucho Marx, _Duck Soup_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Jareth's Precious Thing**  
_It can't be. It just can't!_

_I knew Jareth had a thing for Sarah, but there's no way she could feel the same about him! It doesn't make sense!_

_At the same time, though, I've watched her around him; I don't think she notices the way her cheeks turn a faint pink, or the way her hair seems to float slightly by its ends. There's only one thing that can make a girl do that. I just hope he treats her the way she deserves to be._

* * *

Jareth came to say good night to Toby after his parents tucked him in.

"Hi," Toby whispered with an excited smile, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'll be all right," he chuckled.

"Is your brother a bad guy or something?" Toby asked tentatively, not looking at him. The man sighed.

"I haven't spoken to my brother for a long time," he answered carefully, "We didn't get along well as children. I suppose we still don't."

"How come?" the boy asked innocently as he scooted up to him. Jareth looked at him, wondering how much to tell him. Remembering this child had been attacked by his brother's subjects, possibly at his orders, he decided to be honest with him.

"I don't trust my brother, Toby," he said quietly as he took his hand, "He's a bit of a troublemaker; he's done a lot of terrible things that you don't need to hear about."

"So he _is_ a bad guy," said Toby matter-of-factly. Jareth smiled crookedly and chuckled, then ruffled the boy's hair while Toby giggled.

"You're an intelligent boy, Toby," he said appreciatively, "That's a very good thing. You have incredible power and I'm proud of you for using it honorably." Toby smiled with his icy blue eyes sparkling in the dark and he crawled over to Jareth and hugged him with his eyes shut tight.

"You like to act tough, Jareth," he grinned, "but to me, you're like a big teddy bear sometimes…like Ludo!"

Jareth was mortified inside and felt himself deflating.

"Thank you, Toby," he smiled, "Now I want you to go to sleep. I'm going to see your sister."

"Okay." Toby snuggled back under his quilt with Lancelot. "Jareth…I'm worried about Sarah, but I feel better knowing you're protecting her. Thank you." Jareth smiled and touched the child's face. Then he left through his window; Toby's face fell and he hugged Lancelot tightly.

"I'm just a kid, Lancelot," he said sadly, "I can only do so much. I'll protect Sarah the best I can, but I'll need everybody's help." He laid down and closed his eyes.

* * *

Jemna was waiting for him on Sarah's balcony; she was sitting on the banister with one of her legs swinging over the front yard and her other knee supporting her elbow, the hand of which held yet another flowerette, a white gardenia. Her black cape blew in the breeze with her short shaggy hair tickling her cheeks, her gorgeous eyes touched with moonlight. She was like a guardian of the night.

But the night held no beauty for the elf queen; her lovely eyes were troubled, as was evidenced by the impatient way she was smoking her gardenia, like a dragon itching for its gold.

"You're worried about something." His black cape caught the edge of her eyesight and she looked up to see her brother standing straight as a tree, gazing ahead with eyes as troubled as her own.

"I'm that obvious, huh?" she said darkly, "The way I'm puffing like a smokestack." He sat down facing the window, letting his cape fly behind him.

"I can tell even without the flowers," he said, "Suppose you tell me about it?" Jemna sighed in a white cloud of fragrance and spun on her bottom to place her feet on the floor. She dropped a D-bomb under her breath before snuffing out her flower in her _bare hand._

"I thought I should be the one to tell you this, Jareth," she said, "as your sister, as one ruler to another." He looked at her expectantly; her eyes were narrowed and closed. She then looked straight at him and said, "Amalthea the Unicorn is gone, Jareth. She's been stolen!"

"Stolen?" he said calmly with a weird look, "What do you mean stolen?"

"Abducted, imprisoned, kidnapped, captured, absconded with, taken hostage, whichever you like," she said, "She's being held against her will, and I think I know who did it." Jareth looked at her, his face intensely inquisitive.

"Jathan," he guessed calmly.

"Who else has enough power to even dare to capture a unicorn?" said Jemna, "The kingdom's in an uproar over this."

"I'm sorry to hear this, Jem," said her brother, "What are you doing about it?"

"That's why I'm here." She leaned back on the rail and dug her toe into the ground. "I met with the Elf Council, and together we gathered at the Pool of the Chosen to find out who is best suited to rescue such a creature as Amalthea." She knelt on the banister long-ways and steeled herself for his reaction.

Jareth's fist clenched almost involuntarily, stretching the leather of his glove. It all made sense now—the gargoyles, Jemna's visit, everything.

He looked up sideways at his sister with a careless-looking yet narrow expression and stood to face her. She was looking down, unable to meet his eyes.

"Jemna," he said her name quietly with a hand on the banister, then his voice progressed to fierce, "if you dare to tell me they've chosen Sarah…_my_ Sarah…I will assume owl form and claw your face to ribbons."

"I'm sorry, Jareth," she said quietly and lowly, "Truly, I am. I know how you must feel about this."

"BLAST IT, JEMNA!" His fist hit the rail like a bowling ball. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Please keep your voice down, Jareth," she replied quietly, "You'll wake her." Jareth swiftly got in her face with anger in his eyes; Jemna met them unflinchingly and unmoving, her brother's cape blowing around them both.

"Why?" he accused, "What are you going to do, whisk her away in her sleep and hold her captive unless she rescued your precious unicorn? Is that your clever plan?"

"Don't speak nonsense," she said, still calm yet cold, "I have no such plan. Unlike you, brother, I'm not afraid to swallow my pride and beg properly. _**I **_will not stoop as low as kidnapping." He turned swiftly away from her, whooshing her hair forward. He put his hand on the rail again and looked through the windows of the door; he saw Sarah sleeping beautifully in bed with her music box playing sweetly on her bedside…and he was glad she hadn't seen him throwing a mild tantrum.

"Why her, Jemna?" he asked, his sister now at his side.

"Unicorns are seen only by those who search and trust, as far as mortals go," she explained, "They favor the young and innocent, mostly women and children. Sarah is a perfect balance of all these things but additionally, she is strong, loving, compassionate, wise to the ways of magic, and very tenacious. Your Labyrinth is irrefutable proof of that." Jareth half-smiled.

"And if I may say so, Jarry," she added, "she _is_ quite lovely." His face fell and he straddled the rail, resting an elbow on one knee.

"Lovely is not the word I would use to describe Sarah," he said, "She's beautiful…(He clenched another fist)…beautiful and frustrating."

"Frustrating? How?" she asked. He didn't look at her, which she expected; she knew her brother to be somewhat shy in matters of love, which he had never really experienced before…so really, he was shy about emotions he wasn't previously familiar with. She's always rather liked that about him; it suggested a sensitive nature that was usually trumped by dealing with those idiotic goblins every day.

"She's in love with me and doesn't know it," he said, "She's started to discover her feelings and she's fighting them tooth and nail. She's only barely begun to scratch the surface and she's scared, but of what? Of me? Of her feelings?"

"Of the fact that you may well be the first person she's ever felt this way about?" she suggested, "Of having feelings for another person that, like you, she is unfamiliar with? She's a young girl, Jarry. Give her time and she'll come around. Who knows?" She leaned down next to him with a smile. "This mission may even bring you together. It happens often. Think of it this way: Once she's back in our world, you'll be highlighted in her thoughts, naturally. You face danger together, engage in an epic battle, and through some magical circumstance, she discovers her love for you, declares it for all to hear, and lo and behold, she becomes a princess…_your_ princess."

He looked at her sarcastically. She was smiling.

"Doesn't that sound fun?" she beamed.

"It's possible the overbearing scent of your flowers has clouded your judgment," he said, "but I prefer to think you're just over-romanticizing this." She laughed.

"Congratulations, Jarry," she clapped him on the shoulder, "Your sister's a woman. Be sure to tell that to Lord Gimble; I'm sure he'll be relieved of the assurance." Jareth stood up.

"Jemna," he interrupted, "let's get back to the subject. Are you absolutely certain that Sarah is the chosen one?"

"The Pool of the Chosen never chooses wrongly, brother," she said gently in her rich yet flinty voice as she gently touched him, "You know that. I just wanted you to know because you're so close to her."

Her brother looked intensely at her, his eyes slightly misty; he hugged her closely, wrapping her in his cape with one arm.

"Thank you, sister," he murmured humbly, "Thank you for coming to me yourself to tell me." He didn't see her eyes turn emotional as she hugged him back. She loved it when he called her "sister." He'd called her that ever since they were children! Family ties were a big thing among the Fae, especially siblinghood, and Jareth and Jemna had always been particularly close. She closed her eyes, allowing one tear to drip.

"I love you, Jarry," she said, "That's why it was so hard for me to bring you this news. I knew what it would do to you. I bet Jathan did, too."

"Jemna, are you sure it was him?" he asked as he pulled back. She sighed.

"The night we went to the Pool," she explained sadly, "I asked it to reveal Amalthea's captor if it could. Sometimes it can, sometimes not. It started to show us, but a gust of wind disrupted the water and destroyed the image. Only someone with strong magic can do that, and the only people I know like that are you, Jathan, and the rest of our family. He's the only one I know that would so brazenly cross borders like this—stealing a unicorn! It's unheard of!"

Jareth nodded. "So what's your clever plan?" She sat on the end of the rail that was attached to the house, leaning against the wall as she lit up another flowerette. She took a long drag and exhaled calmly, releasing a cloud scented with a strong smell of hyacinths that hit Jareth like a train.

"First, there's the matter of her parents," she said, "I'd like you to reorder the time around them so that only a second will have passed for them."

"Done," he nodded. She folded her hands and laid her chin on them thoughtfully with her flowerette in her teeth.

"Tomorrow I want to take Sarah to the Elf Kingdom," she mused, "We're having the Feast of the Summer Harvest and I'd like her to be a guest of honor—Toby, too. And you're invited, of course."

"Toby?" Jareth asked, "Why?"

"He's in as much danger as Sarah," she said, "He can stay in the castle, where he'll be safe, surrounded by elves and magic. I'm also inviting Hoggle and their other friends; they'll act as guardians." He nodded.

"I'd rather he was with you than exposed here, even with my goblins," he agreed, "I'll station some in the house to watch the parents."

"Yes, of course." Jemna took a small drag. "Now, there's nothing more we can do tonight; go watch over Sarah and I'll stand guard out here."

He looked at her for a moment; she was still smoking her flowerette and watching the sky. She jerked her head toward the window.

"Go on," she said, "She doesn't bite." He half-smiled wryly.

"I beg to differ," he muttered as he slipped into Sarah's room and quietly crept over to her bed. Her head was turned to the right, her dark eyelashes brushing her cheeks, which were pink from the warmth of her quilts. A bit of moonlight managed to touch her face; she looked like she was sprinkled with moondust.

She was beautiful.

Carefully, as if treading sacred ground he was unworthy of, he moved a strand of hair from her face. He watched her with deep eyes, wondering what she was dreaming of without the assistance of his crystals.

He leaned over her and gently pressed the side of his face to hers; her skin was warm and smooth under his cool cheek. Some of his hair brushed her face and he stayed like that with his eyes closed, taking in her presence.

He remembered the first time he ever saw her…

* * *

_He had just perched on a pine tree in the park woods; his head was still throbbing from the goblins' loud partying and he only needed an hour or so to relax in the quiet solitude of the pines. It was precisely an hour later that he heard her footsteps nearby and her panting as she ran frantically.__**needed**__ him. She couldn't know he'd seen her house, she couldn't! She was only a child; she couldn't be more than seven! What made her think an owl could lead her home?_

_"Mama!" she cried, "Papa!" She tripped over her skirt and fell facedown in the grass. She was dressed up like a princess._

_She lifted her grubby face from the dirt and panted while crying. Then she looked up and saw him._

_She drew a slow breath with wide eyes and it made him curious. Hadn't she ever seen a barn owl before? She was staring at him like he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen!_

_This was making him uncomfortable; he ruffled his wings and started to fly off._

_"Wait!" cried the child as she scrambled after him, "Wait, Mr. Owl! Don't go!"_

_He twisted his head to look back at her; she was following him! Why was she following him?_

_"Please help me out of here, Mr. Owl!" she pleaded, "I'm lost! I can't find my way home! Mama's waiting for me!"_

_Oh! He remembered hearing a young woman calling from her house for a "Sarah" earlier. Was this her?_

_The owl fluttered to the ground and studied her; she was a lovely child with shoulder-length hair of a rich brown and big green eyes that were still wet, and her face was red and covered with dirt and tear stains._

_"Please," she whimpered, "I need you."_

_The owl gave a startled hoot; she_

_Her faith, perhaps? Her unwavering, childlike faith? None of the other children he observed had anything like that. She had an aura of magic around her that he'd never felt, too._

_His mind was made up; he fluttered away a few feet and looked at her. Getting the message, she got up and ran after him as he flew. They paused only for her to catch her breath._

_Finally, she bent over with her hands on her knees, huffing and puffing with red cheeks. A small red book plopped at her feet._

_"Oh!" She picked it up, dusted off the cover, and touched the lettering of the title._

_"Labyrinth," she read. The owl perched on her shoulder beside her._

_"Is this for me?" she asked. He nodded with a small hoot and rubbed his head on her face. She giggled and pet him with her eyes closed._

_'Well done,' he thought to her lovingly, 'you precious thing.' He heard her gasp and flew away. He perched in a tree nearby just in time to see her mother come running out in tears with her arms out to the child._

_"Sarah!" she cried._

_"Mommy!" Sarah yelled as the two embraced tearfully and joyfully._

_The king watched silently from his perch; he couldn't believe he'd gone out of his way to help a mortal child. And yet, her declaration of "I need you" had stuck in his mind and for the first time ever, he wanted her to need him. He vowed then and there that he would watch over her and protect her and be near her if she ever needed him again._

_Quietly and suddenly, he spread his wings and flew away._

* * *

Jareth opened his eyes, his face still pressed to Sarah's. She was 19 now, a high school senior. She'd come a long way since that day; it was miraculous to him that she would still need him after so long. She probably didn't even remember that time. She was older now, but she was still a believer, still beautiful…

"You're still precious," he whispered softly. He carefully lifted his head and brought her hand to his lips as softly as a butterfly alighting on a flower. He then put it back down and sat on the floor against the side of her bed, withdrawing a few crystals for entertainment.

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Ah, me; young love! Or immortal love, or whatever!

Okay, references!

In case y'all need an explanation, the italic beginning is Hoggle.

The "D-bomb" is, of course, the D-word; I make it a point not to put expletives in my stories, even if they were in the movie. I'm sure y'all can figure that out.

Amalthea the Unicorn is a dead ringer of the Last Unicorn, whose human name was Amalthea. I hope some of y'all have seen that movie; it's so cute! Rankin/Bass forever!

The entire memory of little Sarah is a tribute to Fruits Basket, when Tohru Honda was guided home by a mysterious boy who is later revealed to be Yuki Sohma (kawaii!). And the Mr. Owl thing, just to clarify, is NOT from the story "The Adventures of Sarah and Mr. Owl," I promise!

"You're still precious" is a tribute to Takuto and Mitsuki from _Full Moon _Volume 3, I think; except Takuto's line was "you're still short." The face thing was also from that.

And…I think that's it. Any questions, comments or cookies? You know what to do! See you next time!


	9. Let's Talk About Boys!

Greetings and salutations to everybody out there in Fan Fiction land! I hope y'all liked the sappiness of the previous chapter (I know I did!). Sorry for not updating lately; I'm getting addicted to the Pieces of Flair application on Facebook (it's very amusing!). Y'all should try it! Oh, and this is one of those "plot gets cooking" chapters.

* * *

_"Forget Edward; give me Jareth!"—_Pieces of Flair (don't know who made it, but if I did, I'd give them a cookie!)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Let's Talk About Boys!**  
_Last night I had this dream. __A unicorn was running through a dense forest and was being pursued by the gargoyles I met in the street. It batted them away with its horn, but then a human man chased after it! It neighed and ran._

_"No!" I shouted, "Don't hurt her!" I don't know how I knew it was a female, but I did. He didn't listen to me; he just ran right after her and they disappeared into a thicket._

_Before I could move to help her, a pair of arms grabbed me from behind and I heard the Goblin King telling me "Sarah, don't!" I turned to tell him to let me go and help her, but before I could get the words out, I heard a horse-like, effeminate scream and felt Jareth tense up against me. I heard him drop a G-bomb under his breath._

_Then **I**__ screamed. I didn't see what I was screaming at, but I screamed._

* * *

The sound of a dish being clinked and the smell of chicken were what awoke Sarah the next morning; she forced her bleary eyes open and looked around her room. The only other person there was Queen Jemna, sitting cross-legged on the corner of her bed against one of the posts. She was slurping up another bowl of ramen noodles.

"Good morning, starshine," smiled the queen, "The earth says hello."

"Queen Jemna?" Sarah croaked, disoriented, "What are you doing?"

"Standing guard makes you hungry, so I treated myself to some more of these delicious noodles," she answered. Sarah was still only half-awake.

"Where's Jareth?" she asked as she propped herself up.

"I sent him home," said Jemna, "It took a lot of convincing to get him more than 10 feet away from you, my lovely. I told him a king needs his rest, but he's absolutely paranoid about you. He sat by your bed half the night before I came to relieve him."

"Ohh," Sarah groaned and flopped back over, "I don't want him losing sleep over me! What's the matter with him?" Jemna swallowed a mouthful of noodles and stirred the bowl.

"The matter is that you're being stalked by a dangerous man whose soul is immersed in utter darkness," she said, "That's enough to send any man into a tizzy."

"Oh." Sarah sat up and leaned on her knees. "Jemna? (…) Why did you ask if Jareth had ever passed through me before? Is it something special I should know about?" The queen put her bowl down and looked at the girl thoughtfully.

"First let me ask _you_ something," she said, propping her elbow up on her knee, "Tell me, Sarah: How do you feel about Jareth?"

Sarah gasped, caught off guard. The blood rushed to her face and she hated herself for looking so obvious.

"What kind of question is that?" she spluttered.

"I don't know," the woman shrugged, "I think it rather fair, considering he's my little brother—the youngest, no less." Sarah gripped the covers.

"I…" she stammered, "I don't know how I feel about him. At first, I thought I hated him for stealing Toby from me. But that was four years ago, and he's been visiting Toby all this time! And now he's made this sudden reappearance in my life, probably because of the gargoyles and the fact that I called for him _again_..." Jemna chuckled.

"Sounds like an emotional roller coaster to me," she said as she lit a morning glory flowerette. Sarah nodded in agreement.

"That's just the half of it," she said, hugging her knees, "Don't tell him I said this, but…" Her voice lowered a little, like she was sharing a secret (and she was). "When he's near me…I can feel him in my blood. When he's away, I can feel him watching me. I can hardly breathe when he touches me and I feel so safe when I'm around him, when I dance with him." She closed her eyes with the memory and rubbed her arms. "I'm floating around…the music is soft…and I see nothing at all but his eyes…his smile…all I can feel is his arm around me, his hand holding mine…" She sighed softly as she relived her crystal dreams.

"Sounds like love to me," smiled the queen, "especially judging by the lovely poetry in your words and the soft tone of your voice."

"I don't know if I truly love him," Sarah said honestly, "but I do care deeply about him." Jemna nodded understandingly.

"And if I didn't know better," she said gently, "I'd say you were frightened."

"That's putting it mildly," Sarah chuckled. Jemna puffed on her flower.

"All right," she shrugged, "If you want me to put it bluntly, you're terrified because you've never felt this way about anyone in your life, primarily due to your social ineptitude, which stems from your head-in-the-clouds imagination. Is that about right?"

Sarah stared at her; the queen was still smiling as she smoked her flowerette.

"You've pretty much nailed it on the head," she nodded, "but you still haven't answered my question."

Jemna exhaled a fragrant white-and-yellow cloud.

"Fair's fair," she shrugged again, "Jareth's walking through you like that is called soul passing. It's a common ability among the Fae, people like me and Jareth. We can pass through each other's souls like rain through mist; when that happens, we share our thoughts and feelings and they are only heard and felt by the ones who are passing. It's an intimate gesture—like a hug or a kiss—to share the secrets of your heart with another, so commonly soul passing is done only by close friends or close family members who haven't met for a while or true lovers. Jareth never did it with anyone except for me; he only passes through souls that are special to him." She looked at Sarah significantly.

"Oh," said Sarah softly, "I don't know what to say."

"That's all right, love," she waved off, "Sorry for prying, but I'm a big sister, like you. We have to look out for our baby brothers, eh? Now go get dressed; there's something else I need to talk to you about."

"Okay." Sarah quickly changed clothes, made her bed, and sat on it across from the Elf Queen. Just then, Toby came in wearing a yellow polo shirt and blue carpenter shorts.

"Hey, guys," he smiled, "Did I miss something important?"

"No; as a matter of fact, you're just in time," said Jemna as she lifted him to her lap, "I have something important to tell you both." Sarah looked at her curiously.

"Shouldn't we wait for Jareth?" Toby asked.

"He already knows," she said, "Now please, children, listen carefully to me." They both looked at her and she took a long drag of her flower.

"This is very difficult for me," she started, "One of my subjects has been kidnapped from the Elf Kingdom, a unicorn named Amalthea. She is the only unicorn in my entire kingdom. She protects the forests and blesses women and children and some men. Now she's gone, and all Amarantha is in an uproar."

"Who stole her?" Toby asked in shock with wide eyes.

"What kind of monster steals a unicorn?" Sarah agreed with soft shock, "Who even _tries?_"

"My brother, Jathan," the queen answered, "It hasn't been proven yet, but I know it was him. At any rate, to rescue a creature like Amalthea takes a special kind of person. I've met with my Council of Elves and we've discovered our choice of a rescuer by gazing into the sacred and magical Pool of the Chosen." She looked at the girl with deep, steady eyes.

"It's chosen _you,_ Sarah." Toby looked up at the queen with saucer-like eyes and then at his sister, who stared at Jemna with awe and humility. She didn't speak for a while and she didn't notice Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus appear around her bed.

"So…" she finally said, "You want me…to go back to your world with you…and save a unicorn?" The queen nodded.

"You'll have protection," she assured her, "but in the end, only you will be able to save her." Sarah looked down at her lap and thought for a moment.

"What about my parents?" she asked.

"Jareth will reorder their time," said Jemna, "They'll never miss you. They'll also have goblins protecting them. They'll be all right."

"And Toby?" Sarah asked further.

"Will be staying at my castle in Amarantha," she answered, "There he'll be protected by elves and safe from my brother's power."

"Hmph," Toby scowled and wrinkled his nose, "I'm not afraid of him."

"Well, you should be," Jemna chided him, "You think a fever is the worst he can do to you? He went easy on you that time because one, you're a child, and two, it was a dream attack; they're less severe, even for him."

"All right," Sarah cut in, "I'll do it. I'll go with you to the Elf Kingdom, and so will Toby. I'll help save your unicorn." Jemna smiled.

"Thank you, Sarah," she bowed her head to her, "All of Amarantha thanks you."

"Yay!" Toby cheered and slid off Jemna's lap, "We're going to the Elf Kingdom! When do we leave? Are Hoggle and the others coming, too? Do you have minstrels?"

"Toby, we are _not_ going for a vacation," Sarah said seriously, "I'm going for a rescue mission! You're being protected from a dangerous fae who's trying to use you as a gateway!"

"Oh, pish-posh, little lady!" Jemna giggled, "Don't squash the child's enthusiasm! After all, _he_ won't be in any danger!" She picked Toby up and swung him around by his armpits while he laughed.

"But Sarah will?" Hoggle spoke up, his arms folded.

"I can handle danger, Hoggle," Sarah smiled, "I've been through it before, remember?"

"And you three are certainly invited too, Hedwig," said Jemna, holding Toby.

"Hoggle," muttered the dwarf, "and thank you. I won't be leavin' Sarah to fight—heaven forbid—gargoyles alone."

"Hear, hear!" chirped Sir Didymus, "Ambrosius and I are entirely at your disposal!" Jemna looked toward a corner of the room with a strange yet kind smile.

"Come along, Toby!" she beamed and plucked him back up, "Introduce me to your dog Merlin, won't you? And you three, I'll be needing you for a private conference. Please excuse us, Sarah." She looked back in the corner and cocked a threatening eyebrow.

"Be nice to her," she warned before closing the door. Sarah was confused at first, then realized there was only one person she could've been talking to.

She blushed and spoke to him without looking.

"How long have you been there?" she asked.

"Long enough," he answered, his voice cool and smooth as ever as he walked over to her. She turned and looked up at him.

"What do you think of all this?" she asked, "About me going off to save a unicorn and facing off against your own brother?" He kept his arms folded in a stone-faced manner.

"Does it matter what I think?" he asked coldly (but not at her).

"It does to me," she said quietly. He looked at her; she was looking away. He sighed and stood by her window. The morning sunlight put bright highlights in his wild hair and lit his eyes on fire. He looked gorgeous, but Sarah quickly put that out of her head and went to him, feeling a little awkward. She nervously wondered how much he'd really heard.

"What are you thinking right now?" she asked, still feeling awkward. He leaned on the wall, looking sideways out the window.

"Two things, actually," he answered quietly, "One…what a curse I've brought to your life. I've taken a young girl's normal life and turned it completely upside-down."

"Jareth," she said, "my mother died when I was 12 years old. I've built my life around theater and fairy tales, which is something almost no teenager does. My life was anything but normal, even before you came…and you came because I called you every time. Do you think I would've called you if I didn't want you here? If I didn't need you?"

He looked at her then, surprised. She had a wincing, embarrassed expression and couldn't look at him. And was he imagining things, or was her face red?

"No," he said, "I suppose not." The discomfort in the room could've been cut with the Jaws of Life; why, oh, why had Jemna gone and left them alone?

"What's the other thing?" she asked, feeling she'd regret it. He looked at her with sad yet intense eyes and delicately lifted a lock of her hair to his lips. Her heart jumped back to its favorite place in her throat when he moved closer to her, forcing her to look up at him.

She'd grown in the last four years, Jareth noticed; the top of her head reached his nose now, but she still essentially looked the same. Those eyes of hers could still cripple him with their electric spark or act as a shield to hide her fear.

"I was thinking," he said deeply and honestly, "how much I want to hold you right now."

Sarah couldn't believe he said that! She quickly lowered her wide eyes and tried to breathe, but found herself looking at the bare of his chest! His strangely crescent-shaped medallion with the topaz in the curve lay heavily in the middle; his skin was pale, natural for one who lived Underground. The ruffles of his shirt framed it beautifully and sent the blood straight to her cheeks. She shut her eyes tightly and trembled.

"Dang it, Jareth!" she exclaimed as she beat his gorgeous chest, "Why are you torturing me like this?" He chuckled deeply.

"How could I possibly torture you?" he smiled devilishly.

"Like that!" Sarah panicked, "You come on as this smooth, charismatic god who controls the world and you tell me stuff that puts my head in the clouds—and the rest of me—and it drives me insane! I can't stand it!"

Jareth stopped her fists with one hand holding them to his chest and held her chin with the other.

"And how do you suppose _**I **_feel, Sarah?" he said intensely, "Watching you night and day, afraid to appear to you for so long for fear of rejection? And recently, fearing for your safety because my own flesh and blood has threatened you? Do you have the faintest conception what it feels like wanting to be near you like this, and unable to be?"

"Yes." She found her voice. "I do." Sarah had always prided herself on being her own kind of girl, but she was also a drama queen (literally). There were times when a girl could do nothing but be a girl.

She buried her face on their hands and her hair curtained her. Jareth gave a small gasp but did nothing.

"I do!" she cried out, her voice muffled, "I don't know why, but ever since a year ago, I started thinking about you and I…I started to…" She hunched up her shoulders and gripped his shirt; she didn't know why she was acting like this, except that she'd never felt this way before.

Jareth felt his heart stop as he waited for her to finish her sentence; she calmed down and stepped back from him. To his relief, she hadn't cried once.

"I want you to come with me to the Elf Kingdom," she said. His heart dropped to the floor with disappointment; the nasty little cheat, she'd purposely passed over the moment! He'd get her back for this, he promised himself.

"Of course I will," he smirked, "You don't think I'd miss something this big, do you? Perhaps tonight we'll get a chance to finish our talk."

"Tonight?" said Sarah.

"Tonight is my sister's Feast of the Summer Harvest at her castle," he answered as he walked off a bit, "It's a very big celebration for the Elves and quite a party, I hear." He turned his head back to her with that feral smile of his.

"Perhaps we'll dance together again," he said, "Only this time, it won't be a dream." The door knocked just then and Jemna poked her head in.

"Are we ready?" she asked. Jareth nodded.

"Good." She came in. "You go take care of her parents; I'll take everyone to the castle."

He nodded again, glanced at Sarah briefly, and swept out the door.

"Sarah." Toby grabbed her hand. "How come your face is all red? Do you have a fever, too?"

"Not the same kind you had," she answered, trying to compose herself. Hoggle looked confused at her, but she gave a "we'll talk later" look.

"Right!" Jemna rubbed her hands together. "Everyone step this way, please!" She strode to the window doors and swung them open, allowing a bright light to flood the room that blinded everyone. Ludo moved in front of Sarah and held her close; Toby clung onto her waist. Didymus and Ambrosius huddled against LUdo and Hoggle held onto Sarah, too. Everyone had their eyes shut tight against the light.

"It's all right, everyone!" Jemna chirped, "You can open your eyes!"

Sarah stood up straight, still surrounded by Ludo's bulk. He turned around and Sarah saw that they were on an amber-colored marble terrace with two pillars on a doorway behind them. It was wide and spacious with a beautiful marble railway border that could be used as a bench. The terrace overlooked a garden-like paradise with vast forests in the distance.

Jemna smiled proudly and held her hand out in an introductory manner.

"Welcome to my world."

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
No time for comments today; sorry! Love ya! Mean it!


	10. Feasts and Titles

WAAAAAAAH, I'M SO SORRY!!!!! I've left you guys all alone! I have an excuse, though; I've been sick all this week and my mom won't stop watching Star Trek on Hulu! Gah!!!!

But I'm back now, if only for a brief moment! Please enjoy this relief to the cliffhanger from last chapter!!! And enjoy another dose of Toby's cuteness!

* * *

_"You don't __**have**__ to be sad anymore! You don't have to be mad anymore! We can all join hands and sing Ring Around the Frickin' Rosie!"_—Bowling For Soup, _I'm Gay_

* * *

**Chapter 9: Feasts and Titles  
**The sun never looked so divinely golden as when it shone on the Elf Kingdom of Amarantha; its beams seemed to separate into different shades, from white to bronze, whichever was appropriate for what or whom it touched. Everything seemed to shine with its own natural light, from the queen's magnificent castle to the white, English cottage-styled houses outside the garden that surrounded the palace. The pine trees glittered with dew drops; so did birds' feathers.

The terrace they stood on was crawling with flowers three times as big as the flowers in the mortal world and the lawns were a perfect green and had fountains and rose mazes everywhere.

"It's beautiful," Sarah murmured as she walked to the balcony rail.

"Indeed," Didymus agreed in awe, "I love what you've done with the place! It's positively breathtaking, Your Highness!"

"Merely a trifle," Jemna grinned as she plucked a huge chrysanthemum petal, "I had the housekeeping staff shine it up from top to bottom for the ball—sheep's wool." She rolled up the petal like a cigarette and lit it up.

"Wow," said Sarah, "They really _are_ made of flowers!" Jemna released a puff.

"Yes, but don't tell my Head Gardener I did that," she chuckled, "Heads will roll if Elisheba finds out I've smoked one of her flowers—_my_ head, to be precise. Come, come; I'll show you to your rooms."

Each of the Elf Queen's guests found her arrangements befitting to their taste; Ludo got a spacious room with a sleeping couch, since it was easier for him to sit on and get off, and a fireplace. Hoggle's room was small yet stylish and cozy, dimly lit with a rustic feel, and a cheery fireplace. Sir Didymus' room had paintings of great heroes on the walls and a comfortable silk dog bed for Ambrosius in front of a marble gray fireplace.

Toby's room had a blue and green color scheme with a four-poster canopy bed, tall windows that were pointed a the tops and made lotus flower shapes in the panes that gave it the nickname "The Lotus Room." He also had a fireplace, one of green marble, and a big walk-in closet with all sorts of boys' costumes in it that he could reach more easily and two big cushy armchairs—one blue, one green—sat on a fluffy white rug before the fireplace.

"Oh, wow!" he cried, "This is awesome!" He spun around while running to get the feel of the space. "It's as big as _two_ of my room!" He jumped on a window sill.

"Sarah, check it out!" he bounced on his hands, "A garden view! And we're so high up, I can see everything from here!" Jemna chuckled warmly.

"I'm glad you like it, Toby," she beamed, "All that's left is your room, Sarah. This way, please."

She led them to a beautiful door at the end of the hallway made of brightly colored cherry wood with a finish of the finest patina and a delicately curved golden handle carved with flowers on English Ivy. Sarah nearly winced when Jemna gripped it and opened the door to a room of pale pink and red-draped windows with panes shaped like cherry blossoms. The bed also had red curtains and pink satin quilts with a white lace bed skirt around the sides. The four posts were dark cherry and the headboard was carved with cherry trees and beautiful maidens. The fireplace was also cherry wood and brightly colored, like the door, and was carved with weeping cherry willow trees. The floor was shiny marble with a thick red rug comfortable and thick enough to sleep on. Above was a magnificent chandelier with glass cherry blossom lights on wire strands that threw tinkling lights over everything like a disco ball.

Sarah was speechless as she walked around the room; it was the most beautiful room she'd ever been in. She felt so unworthy of it!

"I save this room for only the most special of guests," Jemna smiled, "And you, my dear, are very special indeed." She took a drag of her flower and asked, "Do you like it?" Sarah pressed her hands to her flushed cheeks with wide eyes.

"It's too beautiful for me," she exhaled in awe, "I couldn't possibly stay in here!" Jemna laughed in a wispy cloud of white and walked to her.

"You wouldn't refuse the generous hospitality of the Elf Queen, would you?" she asked, trapping her on purpose.

"Of course not, but"— Jemna cut her off by sealing the girl's lips with a delicate, slightly tanned, perfectly manicured finger.

"Then don't," she smiled, "The Cherry Room is the most popular guest room in the entire castle. All the girls love it. When it comes to my guests, I see no need to go cheap! Not when I have the finest and loveliest resources at my disposal! Besides, whatever would Jareth say to me if I didn't totally spoil you? What would he think of me?"

"Excuse me, Your Highness," Didymus piped up, "Someone wants you in the hall."

"Ah!" she sparkled when she saw who it was with her arms out, "My lord and my lady, how I've missed you both!"

She pranced out to the hallway like a ballerina and embraced two elves a head shorter than Sarah—a slender woman with golden curly hair cut short around her pointy ears and diamond-blue eyes who looked to be in her 30's, and a man who looked to be in his 50's with marble gray eyes and a gray beard that was neatly trimmed; his aura exuded a no-nonsense manner.

"Friends," said the queen with a sisterly arm around the woman, "I have the honor of introducing you all to two of the finest elves I've ever known in my 1630 years of rule: Lady Michal of the noble House of Dumain…"

The lady curtsied with devastating grace.

"…and Lord Gimble of the prestigious House of Puck," said Jemna, "They are two of my ten councilors that serve on the Council of Elves. My lord and lady, my I present the lady Sarah…"

"Nice to meet you," Sarah curtsied, even though she was wearing pants ('cause really, a curtsey is nothing more than a slight dip of the knees; why do you think girls have to lift their skirt to do it?).

"How do you do?" smiled Lady Michal, her voice like delicate silver bells. Lord Gimble nodded gruffly.

"…her brother, Prince Toby…" Toby swept off a feathered musketeer's cap he'd found in his closet and bowed low to the elves with precision that came from years of playing make-believe with Sarah.

"With the humility of a wounded sparrow," he said gallantly, "I genuflect at the feet of your nobility."

"Why, what a charming young man!" exclaimed Lady Michal as she shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, my Lord Prince! Wherever did you learn such an eloquent greeting?"

"I heard it on a video game once," he stated simply.

"My queen!" spoke Lord Gimble sharply, "What in the world is the matter with you?"

Sarah turned to see Queen Jemna doubled over with her head in her arm, leaning on Hoggle's head, her shoulders shaking. Hoggle was in a similar position. Jemna soon raised her head with a gasp for air, like she was laughing. As if betraying her, Hoggle gave a long whoop and slapped his knees.

"What's so funny?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing!" Jemna squeaked and waved, "Nothing, we're all right. It's just…whoo! Your brother is just so adorable!"

"Was it something I said?" Toby asked.

"Oh, ho-ho." Jemna wiped a tear from her eye and knelt to the boy. "Forgive me, little prince, but you were just so cute! Ah, no wonder Jareth chose you as his heir!" She ruffled his hair and stood up.

"If Your Majesty is quite through," said Lord Gimble, tapping his toe, "we have some urgent business to discuss with you, so…ahem…if you please." He held out his hand expectantly, like a stern schoolteacher; she smiled while smoking her flower.

"You flatter me, my lord," she smirked as she snuffed it out in his palm. He balled it into a fist, crushing the petal to the startled gasps of Sarah and Toby.

"Doesn't that hurt?" asked Sarah.

"My dear lady," he replied with worn patience, "if that had hurt, do you think I would've let Her Majesty do that?" Jemna winked and walked away with her councilors.

"Call for Bilba," she called over her shoulder, "She'll show you around!" They looked around for a moment in confusion.

"Bilba?" Toby said in a regular voice.

"Yes?" came the reply from behind Ludo, who jumped to the side from surprise, like the rest of them had. She was exactly a head taller than Toby and had a sweet smile on her face and curly red hair.

"I'll be your assistant this afternoon!" she chimed, "What would you like to see first?"

* * *

That evening near sunset, Jemna knocked on Sarah's door.

"Come in." The queen entered in a sweep of fabric; she was wearing a dark blue dress that fell in folds around her on the skirt, trimmed in gold at the hemline, the elf-type sleeves that draped down in a cone shape, and the v-shaped waistline. The bodice had decorative criss-crossed strings like a corset and lace on the neckline; her upside down crescent medallion hung in front and a dazzling string of dark blue sapphires adorned her chest plate, stones on a silver chain. Her hair was surprising; she had long hair done up into a fancy braided bun with a beautiful medieval-style hairnet holding it up and she had her emerald pendulums on her ears once again. No woman looked so beautiful and regal as the Elf Queen.

"Sarah," she smiled, "What are you looking at?" She walked over to Sarah, who was sitting on one of the cushioned window sills with an open window.

"Your lake," the girl answered, "It's beautiful at sunset." (or, almost sunset)

"Yes," the queen agreed, "It is. The banquet is about to begin and you're not ready. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah," she admitted, "I can't decide what to wear. Can you help me?" Jemna smiled brightly.

"I've got just the thing!" She flew to the ornate closet and picked out a beautiful white elf-like dress etched with silver curves and Celtic symbols on the cone-shaped sleeves, a criss-crossed ribbon pattern on the bodice and lots of veil material under the flowing skirt.

In a matter of minutes, Jemna had Sarah in that dress with a silver string of emerald stones across her neck, diamond studs on her ears, pink lip gloss, and a faint shade of lavender eyeshadow. She put her hair up the way Sarah liked when she wore her costumes with silver ribbons woven in.

"There," said Jemna, "Lovely. Take a look!" She spun her around to look in the rose-carved, dark cherry wood, oval mirror. If Sarah had been the kind of girl that was easily susceptible to tears, she would have wept at the beauty the elf queen had adorned her with. The girls of the Drama Club would _massacre_ each other for something like this!

"I…" was all she could get out. It wasn't often she admired herself in the mirror, and she wasn't vain, but this outfit left her breathless.

"I love it," she finally managed to say, "It's wonderful!"

"Well, then," Jemna smiled warmly and walked toward the door, "I'll present you to your escort."

"Jemna?" Sarah called. She paused at the door.

"Yes, dear?" she asked.

"How did your hair get so long?" Sarah inquired.

"Oh, this is a hairpiece I wear for appearing in court and public and things like that," she winked, "It's actually a whole wig. I call it my good hat. Shall we?"

Sarah stood next to the door so no one would see her yet; the queen opened the door to see Hoggle, Toby, Ludo, Didymus, _and_ Jareth all standing in the hallway with the sunset catching their evening formals (except Ludo; he's just wearing a bow tie). Sarah was a little nervous about how her friends would react, especially Jareth. She hoped Hoggle would like it, of course, but what would Jareth say? What would he think? How would he look at her with those beautiful, dichromatic eyes of his?

_'Aah,'_ she thought, _'I'll deal with it. It's not like I don't like it when he looks at me.'_

Jemna held her hand out after stepping into the hall with a beaming smile. Jareth saw Sarah's smaller hand take his sister's and the maiden stepped into the shimmering light of the sunset. She smiled at her friends.

"What do you think, Toby?" she asked a little self-consciously.

"You look awesome, Sarah!" he piped excitedly as he grabbed her hand, "You're the prettiest girl I've ever seen in my whole entire life!"

"You're not so bad-looking yourself, my little musketeer!" she giggled. Toby was dressed in a white puffy shirt with a blue tunic over it, brown gloves and boots, baggy gray pants, and a wide-brimmed feathered hat with a rapier sword on his side.

"Sarah pretty!" Ludo said happily as he hugged her.

"Thanks, Ludo!" she grinned.

"A fairer maid I never did see before this day," said Sir Didymus as he swept off his cap with a gallant bow.

"Thank you, Sir Didymus," she curtsied back, "You flatter me. Well, Hoggle? How do I look?" The dwarf nodded approvingly.

"Just don't let me get a hold of that necklace of yours," he pointed, "You'd never see it again!" Sarah laughed and hugged him.

"What do _you_ think, Jarry?" asked Jemna with a wry smile, "I know it's not taffeta, but I think she's quite lovely, don't you?"

Jareth looked at Sarah with his head raised a bit, his eyes dark and deep as a well; Sarah remembered that look from her first dream in the crystal ball and lost her breath at how the sunset sparkled on his blue evening suit. It was even more beautiful than in her dreams! Each individual glint was like a star in a dark blue sky. He then lowered his head and smiled.

"Breathtaking," he said warmly. Jemna smiled back knowingly.

"I thought so," she said, "Now come along; everyone's waiting for us!" She walked ahead of everyone with Didymus riding by her side as an escort. Toby trotted up to her and took her by the hand. She looked surprised at him.

"Can I walk with you?" he asked nicely.

"I'd be honored, Your Little Highness," she smiled. Jareth chuckled shortly.

"I'll certainly say this for Toby," he told Sarah as he took her hand in his arm, "He's a born gentleman." They walked off with Hoggle on Sarah's other side and Ludo bringing up the rear.

They made their way to an enormous ballroom that Sarah recognized.

"Hey," she turned to Jareth, "isn't this the ballroom from my dream?"

"It is," he nodded, "but I fear I haven't done it justice."

"Her Majesty, Jemna," a herald announced, "Queen of the Elf Kingdom of Amarantha!" She nodded and dismissed him as everyone who was sitting stood up. All of the Elf Kingdom was there, dressed in their Sunday best.

"I wish to announce my guests," she said clearly, "You all know my brother Jareth, King of the Goblin City and ruler of the Labyrinth! Joining us tonight is the lady Sarah, Friend of the Goblins, Lady of the Labyrinth, Protected One of the Goblin King."

Sarah was mortified as she and the Goblin King came down the steps, which were the kind that circled the whole room like an amphitheater.

"Lady of the Labyrinth?" she muttered, "Who came up with that?"

"You did," he answered quietly in her ear, "You're famous in this world, you know. You're the first mortal to solve the legendary Labyrinth under my rule. I've been the Goblin King for 1300 years, so that's quite an accomplishment."

"Prince Toby," said Jemna, "heir to the throne of the Goblin City, brother to the Lady Sarah." Toby gave another practiced sweeping bow with his hat in his hand and ran next to Sarah while the queen announced the others.

"Look at all the kids here, Sarah!" he piped, holding her hand, "I've never seen so many pretty kids! Can I go play with them? Can I?"

"Don't get your suit messed up and you can," she answered, "Remember your manners, all right?"

Jareth smirked to himself; she was almost like a mother to the boy.

"Okay," he nodded, "Thanks, Sarah!" He ran off to a small group of the most beautiful children Sarah had ever seen.

"Hi! I'm Toby!" she heard him introduce himself, "Can I play, too?" They all ran off together, laughing happily, with the mortal child in their midst.

"Well," said Hoggle, "_he's_ certainly popular."

"Of course he is," said Queen Jemna behind them, "He's a prince in heart as well as in rank. Come, Sarah; I want to introduce you to some friends of mine."

"Oh…uh…" Sarah looked at Jareth.

"Go on," he nodded, "She's not going to hurt you." Sarah let Jemna take her away, leaving the king with Hoggle.

**Author's Review****:**  
Uh-oh; Jareth alone with Hoggle! How will _that_ turn out? Not a lot of action in this chapter, I'm sorry to say; this is one of those piecing together chapters where nothing crazy happens, but it sets the stage for the craziness—and believe me, there WILL be craziness! ;)

Oh, about Jemna and her acceptance of Toby as an escort: There's an emotional depth to that small gesture on Jemna's part that will be partly explained in the next chapter, and I hope to do a whole story of it someday. But don't look for any Jemna subplots, 'cause it ain't happenin' in this chapter.

Now then, references…

The name of the Head Gardener, Elisheba, is a name I heard on "The Ten Commandments." I think it's a pretty name, so I used it!

The house names of the two elf people, Dumain and Puck, are both from Shakespeare plays: Dumain is from "All's Well That Ends Well" (I think) and Puck is the sprightly creature from "A Midsummer Night's Dream." ^_^

Toby's greeting of "wounded sparrow" is from Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon. It's one of my favorite games. PS2 forever!

I didn't realize this until after I'd handwritten it, but Jemna snuffing her flower out in Lord Gimble's hand is just like in "Howl's Moving Castle," when the Witch of the Waste snuffed out a cigar in Howl's hand! I totally didn't know that until later! (He's embedded into my subconscious…)

Another thing I didn't realize (but this wasn't until I typed it just now) is that Bilba is just like the House Elves from Harry Potter! THEY'RE TAKING OVER MY BRAIN!!!!

As far as the taffeta comment, I don't really know what Sarah's bubble dream dress was made of. I just read it in someone else's fic and thought they seemed like they knew what they were talking about. -_-'

And Toby's dressed like the Disney's Three Musketeers (I'm talking Jack Bauer here).

That's all the references I can come up with for now, but consider this as a seat belt chapter, in which you buckle up and HANG ON TIGHT! (I'll try to update sooner, I promise!)


	11. Two Unexpected Guests

I hope y'all still have your seat belts on, 'cause it's time for…(dramatic spin-around pose with pointing finger)…PLOT TWISTING REVELATIONS!!!! SHAMALAMLAMLAMLAMA!!!!!! (gets clocked in head for being stupid)

You know, I realized another thing…Jemna's a lot like Ayame Sohma from Fruits Basket! (weirded out) She's somewhat careless, she's flamboyant, she's…I dunno! She's just her! Anyway, enjoy this PLOT TWISTING REVELATION! (And the romantic dance and song by Michael Bublé, which I don't own.)

* * *

_"The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach; the best way to break security is through the kitchen."_—H. M. Murdock, _The A-Team_

* * *

**Chapter 10: Two Unexpected Guests**  
_My kind are not prone to madness, but we can feel fear. I feel it now, in the most horrible sense of the word.__I'm afraid; this dark dungeon seems to close in on me a little more every day._

_What **is**__ day? This kingdom is so dark I don't even know the difference anymore!_

_But I can't give up; strength is deep in my kind. I must be true to who I am and believe in my queen._

_Someone will save me._

* * *

Sarah felt so awkward leaving Jareth with Hoggle; Didymus was busy conversing with Jemna's captain of the guard and Ludo was entertaining the little ones. It was like leaving your boyfriend alone with your father, except she was worried about what Jareth would do to Hoggle.

"I never care much for parties," Hoggle said awkwardly, "Too many people around. Strangers and such." He rocked on his feet with his hands behind his back. Jareth silently agreed with him. Sure, he liked to be around people and stuff, and he knew a lot of his sister's subjects, but the present circumstance made him grimmer than usual.

"Listen, Your Highness," said Hoggle as he fidgeted, "I know you don't think much of me…but Sarah's my friend and I want to make sure she's happy, so just hear me out. (Pause) I want to know that you'll be good to her—good _for_ her. I want to know that you'll take care of her and protect her with your life, that you'd never hurt her in any way."

"You needn't have asked that, Hoggle," the king replied in a murmur, "I've been taking care of and protecting her longer than she knows and always will. I don't know how confident I am about not hurting her—physically, I wouldn't harm so much as the hem of her dress. But emotionally, psychologically…" He looked away. "I wonder if I haven't done that already."

Hoggle looked where he was looking; Sarah was across the room with Jemna, exchanging polite words with concillmen.

"People who promise never to hurt the ones they love," Jareth continued, watching her, "are making a promise they don't know if they can keep. We can never know the future, so we must be sure of the promises we make. If you make one of those 'never' promises, you must be sure you can keep it. That's why I won't promise I'll never hurt her…I don't make promises I can't keep. I'll always look out for her, protect her, provide her with all she needs, be whatever she needs me to be for her…but I'm so afraid to hurt her that I can't promise I won't."

"I see," Hoggle nodded, "Don't want to jinx nothin.' Well, at least you're trying. Er…thanks, Your Majesty. I feel better knowing where your heart is where Sarah's concerned." Jareth scoffed.

"I'll not be asking for your blessing, dwarf," he said stonily. Hoggle smiled; the king was back to his shenanigans.

"That's okay, Your Majesty!" he chirped as he hobbled off, "You can have it anyway!"

"And don't you dare tell her what I said!" Jareth threatened.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" the dwarf waved. Jareth watched him go, then snapped his head in Toby's direction, his magic senses tingling.

"So, Toby," asked a gorgeous little elf girl, "what are goblins like?"

"A lot of fun," smiled Toby, "Kinda dirty, but they're so much fun to play with! And they like to sing and dance, but they're not that good at dancing."

"Hey, kids," called a little boy, "Look what I found!"

When Toby saw what it was the boy had found, he gasped with a small choke at the end, like Sarah sometimes did. The girl he was talking to looked curiously at him.

"Uh-oh."

* * *

"Sarah?" his small voice said meekly as he tugged on her sleeve. She turned to him and gasped shortly; he had a little girl by the hand with a scared look on her face…a _human_ little girl!

"Molly Stevens?" she said, recognizing the child's strawberry blond hair and sparkly blue eyes.

"H-h-hi, Sarah," she managed to say softly.

"What the devil is this?" cried Lord Gimble.

"Toby, what happened?" Sarah asked as she knelt to them to tend to Molly.

"I think I made a huge mistake," Toby explained, "I was playing with the kids and having so much fun I wished that Molly was here to see this! I guess I accidentally wished her here."

"Oh, Toby," said Sarah as she touched his head, "You know you have to be careful what you wish for." He bowed his head.

"I know," he said glumly, "I'm sorry."

"Toby," Molly asked quietly as she tugged his sleeve, "are these people elves?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "and I know how much you like stuff like this; that's why I wished you were here. I'm sorry I scared you, though."

"I'm not scared," she shook her pretty head, "I'm glad you wished me here! I've always wanted to see elves; they're so pretty!"

"Then let me introduce myself, my lovely wish-away!" Jemna piped up, "My name is Jemna, and this is my castle." She clapped once and the servant Bilba appeared.

"Bilba," said the queen, "please take this lovely young thing to the guest dressing room. Take some of the little girls along for company; you may go too, Toby. Just stand outside the door."

"Come on, Molly!" smiled Toby, taking her hand, "Elves make the prettiest dresses!" He led her away with Bilba and some of his elf companions. Sarah watched him go and noticed Jareth watching, too. Their eyes met and an understanding passed between them—an understanding that Sarah would have a few choice words for him at the earliest convenience and that Jareth looked forward to it with amusement.

"Sarah, Sarah! Look!" Toby called a little later, "Isn't she pretty?"

Sarah blinked and her breath caught: Molly was wearing a gold-colored dress with puffy short sleeves and a ballerina-type skirt. A string of light blue sapphires adorned her neck and a circle of blue impatiens was on her head. She looked gorgeous!

"What do you think, Sarah?" the girl asked shyly. Sarah smiled and knelt to her.

"I think Toby's the luckiest boy in the world for being friends with the prettiest girl ever," she smiled. The lights dimmed suddenly and everyone in the room turned to see the Elf Queen clinging a delicate glass with a spoon. The faint glow of sunset lit the room with soft gold.

"Friends," she announced, "the glorious sun that plays such a monumental role in our survival has cast its last glow on the day as we come together in celebration of another successful harvest. As your queen, I commend the winners of the Festival of Summer Games and count you as honored guests at the Sun Table."

Everyone applauded as the winners of the games waved from a long table with a sun tablecloth.

"Normally at this time, our own unicorn friend Amalthea makes an appearance and joins us," Jemna continued, "but sadly, she is unable to attend this year." Everyone looked sad. "At this time, I ask that we have a moment of silence for our lost friend as plans are made to rescue her."

A sad silence fell over the glorious beauty of the party; the fading sunlight slowly began to retreat from the room, as if reluctant to go. Sarah felt a hand gently grip her shoulder and she looked up into Jareth's eyes; the light turned his blue eye green and his brown eye golden. She couldn't move a muscle and she didn't want to try. What she wanted was to figure out why he was looking at her so intensely and so sadly.

She softly gasped when he moved his hand to the back corner of her head and made her lean toward him slightly; he leaned his head on hers, touching his lips to her hair with his eyes closed. He was so close to her, she could smell his cologne. That was strange; Sarah didn't remember him wearing cologne. It smelled incredible, whatever it was.

"Thank you," said Jemna, "And now I would like to invite my dear brother the Goblin King to join me in leading the first dance!"

Jareth grinned in that way he always did and tugged on the hem of his glove as he sauntered over and bowed to his sister, who curtsied and took his offered hand. After the two Fae siblings had danced for a bit, more people began to join in, including Toby and Molly. Didymus, Sarah was surprised to find, was dancing with Bilba, probably because she wasn't much taller than he was. Watching him dance made Sarah giggle.

Soon the song was over and Jemna announced the singer for the next dance, a handsome man dressed in black clothes that made him resemble Hamlet. He bowed and sat down at a sleek black baby grand piano, beautifully polished and shining in the last desperate glow of the sunset. He played up a gentle and sweet introduction that made Sarah feel soft inside.

"Sarah," Jareth softly asked with a hand across her shoulders, "may I have this dance?" He took a moment to drink in the golden beauty of her eyes.

"Sure," she nodded. Just like in her dream, he took her hand and led her to the floor and just like in her dream, neither of them could look away. They began to dance as the singer crooned smoothly.

_Can't believe it's over  
I watched the whole thing fall  
and I never saw the writing that was on the wall  
If I only knew  
the days were slipping past  
that the good things never last,  
that you were crying_"I see Jemna likes crooners," said Sarah, "He's got such a smooth voice."

"Indeed," said the Goblin King.

"I saw you guys dance, too," she continued (duh—who didn't?), "You dance really well together!"

"Yes, well," he said rather sheepishly, "That's sort of a tradition for us. If you want to know the truth, she never dances with anyone else anymore."

That surprised Sarah; she looked around to see Jemna leaning on the doorway of the wall of windows, which was open. She couldn't see her face, but she guessed from the slackened posture, the limpness of her arm at her side, and the sideways angle of her head that she was sad.

_Mmm…  
Summer turned to winter  
and the snow, it turned to rain  
And the rain turned into tears upon your face  
I hardly recognize  
the girl you are today  
And God, I hope it's not too late  
Mmm, it's not too late_

Sarah turned back to Jareth in confusion.

"Why not?" she asked sadly. He looked at her thoughtfully, then answered, "I'll let her tell you that when she's ready" as he swept her into the chorus. "For now, I want to think about you."

_'Cause you are not alone  
I'm always there with you  
And we'll get lost together  
until the light comes pouring through_

_'Cause when you feel like you're done,  
and the darkness has won,  
Babe, you're not lost…_

_When your world is crashing down,  
and you cannot bear the thought,  
I said babe, you're not lost_

Jareth looked at her again with that intense stare and slid the side of his face against hers so that he looked behind her. She felt her neck prickle and broke a sweat.

"Tonight we make plans for the mission to the Gargoyle City," he whispered in her ear, "Do you feel at all prepared?"

"No," she said honestly when she remembered how to breathe, "but I didn't feel prepared for the Labyrinth, either." He chuckled in a short "hmph" kind of way. He admired that spark in her.

"You know, you didn't finish that sentence," he said, pulling back, "and I told you we'd finish our conversation."

"I know." Sarah's cheeks were a modestly pale shade of pink.

"So what were you going to say?" he asked with a surprising tone of tender care and concern in his voice that was so unlike him. Sarah lifted her sad eyes to his, her green orbs shining with tears, which surprised him.

"I was going to say that…" The words almost caught in her throat. "I missed you."

Now he was truly surprised; he knew that was it, but still…having her say it near tears when she looked so beautiful had hit him from left field!

"You missed me?" he repeated, almost in a whisper. He was humbled. She nodded, unable to speak.

_Life can show no mercy  
It can tear your soul apart  
It can make you feel like you've gone crazy,  
but you're not_

_Things have seemed to change  
but one thing that's still the same  
In my heart you have remained  
And we can fly, fly,  
Fly away…_

As the chorus took a dramatic sweep, Jareth wrapped his arm completely around her and floated her over the dance floor while she kept telling herself not to cry and make him feel worse.

_'Cause you are not alone!_

It was true, but she hadn't known it for four years.

_And I am there with you!_

He had been all along and she'd had no idea.

_And we'll get lost together  
until the light comes pouring through_

_'Cause when you feel like you're done  
and the darkness has won,  
Babe, you're not lost…_

_When your world is crashing down_

The tempo died down as the dancers slowed; Jareth kept his hold on Sarah and she just stood in an emotional paralysis with her hand on his shoulder and her face close to his throat. She thought about how alone she'd felt without him…

_And you cannot bear the cross_

How sad…how incomplete…how…

They stopped. Jareth pushed his face against hers again with his lips near her ear. He closed his eyes and sang quietly.

_I said baby, you're not lost_

That was it; that was how she'd felt without him! She'd felt lost.

He understood! Her eyes spilled over in spite of her and she buried her face in her hands; she at least had enough pride not to throw herself on him like some flimsy damsel (even though she'd pretty much done that in her room).

"Sarah?" Jareth touched her arms as the song finished, "What's the matter? Why are you crying?" If there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was crying girls—not because he was a softie, but purely because it was like something broken that he didn't know how to fix!

"Come over here." Hoggle came over and herded her to a pillar in a less conspicuous part of the room. "There, there, that's a good girl; tell Hoggle what's wrong." He shot Jareth an ugly look, like it was _his_ fault she was crying! Well…technically it was, but he didn't mean to!

"I say, Your Highness," piped up Sir Didymus, "Whatever is wrong with her ladyship?"

"I don't know," he said irritably, "Hoggle took her away." He watched Sarah sitting in a chair talking to Hoggle.

"Jareth!" Toby's happy voice called. He turned to see him leading Molly over to him by the hand.

"I want you to meet my friend!" he smiled, "This is Molly from school! She's in my class! Molly, this is the Goblin King from my stories!" She gasped.

"You're the Goblin King? Really?" she exclaimed. Jareth nodded and her cheeks turned pink; she was obviously in awe of him, especially since he towered over her.

"Oh!" she exhaled, "I have heard so much about you, Your Majesty! Toby writes stories about you and the goblins and he reads them in Show and Tell every week! You look just the way he always said you did! Can you really roll crystals on your hands?"

Jareth studied her for a moment; this child was very charming and had an aura he recognized from Sarah. Yes, she definitely had potential.

He chuckled and knelt on one knee with his fingers close together and a crystal appeared between them. Her doe brown eyes followed it wondrously as it rose and fell in its dance along his hands and arms until it rolled back to his fingertips. He held it out to Molly.

"Do you want it?" he offered. She reached out to touch the crystal and it popped like a bubble, releasing a beautiful butterfly. The two kids laughed; Toby remembered Jareth doing that to him once when he was three or four.

While he was entertaining Molly, Sarah was drying up and telling Hoggle what had happened.

"He didn't hurt yeh, did he?" asked the dwarf.

"No, Hoggle," she smiled, "We were dancing and talking and I…I told him I missed him while he was gone all those years. Then I started thinking about how else I'd felt and he…he sang the last line in the song to me. He said I wasn't lost." She hugged him. "He understands, Hoggle. He knows how I feel! He understands me. It just made me so happy."

"You felt lost?" he asked sadly, patting her arm, "What about me? And Ludo and Didymus?"

"I never felt lost with you, Hoggle," she said affectionately, "I love you guys. The time I spend with you three is the highlight of my day. It's just…you can't think about the Goblin City without thinking of the Goblin King. And…even though I love you and Ludo, and Didymus and Toby…Jareth is the only one who makes me feel free. He's the only one who can save me when I want to get away."

Hoggle held both of her hands gently.

"I'm no good with stuff like that," he said, "so I don't know what to tell you, except…You've always had the power to see him again. All you have to do is make the right call." Sarah smiled down at him.

"Thanks, Hoggle." She stood up. "Excuse me; I've got to find the bathroom."

* * *

It was on her way back that she ran into him.

She passed by a large open window with a cushioned bench as a sill when a velvety dark voice spoke her name.

"Sarah Williams?" The voice sent chills down her spine, like someone had dropped ice cubes down the back of her shirt. She turned her head to the right and saw a slender young man standing by the window. He was clothed in black; his shirt had no ruffles or frills, and the space that exposed his pale chest was very narrow. A black cape drifted lazily just below waist level. A crescent-shaped medallion—again, the same as Jareth's—hung at the bottom of the open V shape of his shirt. It had a purple amethyst in it, and it was glowing. His pants, like his shirt, were tight and accentuated his slight figure; his fluffy black hair was the only thing that fluttered in the night breeze from the window, barely touching the bottom of his neck and revealing a cold blue right eye and a dark purple left eye. He was deftly shuffling a deck of cards between his small, pale hands.

His smile was faint and chilling as he slowly walked to Sarah; he looked like a puff of wind could blow him over, but his presence was a warning sign to all that this man was not to be trifled with.

"Who…?" she started to ask, but then she knew. "Jathan…the Goblin King."

"My, what a sweet girl you are," he smiled wider, "Jemna certainly did you up right; I hope you're not bored by her little party."

His voice was like a delicately crafted knife neatly slicing through silk; Sarah couldn't stand it!

"I'm sorry," she said politely, "I have to get back. They'll be looking for me."

Sure enough, she could hear Toby calling her name and he sounded frantic. She guessed he felt Jathan's presence as well. She curtsied quickly and started to walk to the door.

"Before you go," he called, "I have something for you."

"Thank you, but I'm not comfortable accepting gifts from strangers," she lied.

"Not even something as simple as a Queen of Hearts?" He held a card between his two fingers. "It's only a card."

Every one of her instincts told her not to touch anything of his.

"I don't want it!" she snapped, her fear making her irritable, "You shouldn't even be here!"

He scowled and walked closer to her, showing her the card face-up.

"Don't you even want to know what it does?" he asked in a low, threatening tone.

"I believe the lady said she didn't want it," Jareth spoke from behind her, making her neck prickle with surprise. She could have cried with relief.

Jareth had felt his brother's presence immediately; the topaz in his medallion had started to pulse urgently, like a fire truck light. He'd had to trudge through all the party people, though, and that was why it had taken him so long. The emerald in Jemna's medallion had signaled her as well and she was right behind him in a heartbeat. The three of them could always find each other because their jewels, being from the Crown Collection of their father, always glowed when sensing the presence of its sibling(s).

Jathan's smile widened, but his eyes remained cold as he eyed his little brother. Jareth had about an inch on him and Jemna was the exact same height as Jathan.

"Well, well," he said, his eyes drifting between his siblings, "Doesn't this look familiar, teaming up against me. Some family reunion. Still playing with your silly little baubles, Jareth?"

"Still playing Old Maid with your parlor cards, Jathan?" he responded, "I don't believe you were invited here."

"Yes, well, after a lifetime of 'not being invited,' one learns to invite oneself," he answered, his voice laced with animosity.

"Jemna, take Sarah back inside," Jareth said, his eyes narrowed to slits. Jemna started to gently pull her aside, but Sarah stopped.

"I'm not going anywhere," she protested, surprised with herself. Where had _that_ come from?

"Yes, we wouldn't want the innocent lady to see what kind of man you _really_ are," Jathan goaded with bitter amusement. Before he could blink, he was sent flying sideways through the doors and slid across the ballroom floor on his back. Sarah gasped and Jemna gripped her arms from behind.

_"Jarry!"_ gasped the queen, _"Are you out of your mind?"_ Jareth didn't answer; his face was rigid with grim intensity and his aura sizzled with anger. He whipped his head to Sarah.

"Did he hurt you?" he asked. She shook her head. He stepped back into the ballroom, which was in an uproar. Toby had Molly behind him protectively, staring down at the Gargoyle King. Jathan lay sprawled on his back with elves standing around him in a circle at a safe distance.

"There's your unicorn thief!" Jareth pointed at him. The party guests murmured in confusion while Jathan slowly propped himself up on one hand, holding his side where Jareth's foot had been. He was seething with hatred.

"Leave my castle, Jathan," said Jemna calmly, "You are not welcome here." The utter loathing he looked at her with was the most horrifying expression Sarah had ever seen. How could anyone truly hate his sister so much?

"Whatever will poor Amalthea say," he sneered, "when I tell her how her queen wouldn't even receive me for a negotiation? You must not want her back."

"You admit you've kidnapped her," his sister replied, calmly as ever, "I know you, brother. You've not come to negotiate, but to gloat!"

"Once again, big sister's right," he said bitterly, "except for one thing: I also came to meet _her._" His cold eyes slid over to Sarah like a sword being unsheathed. She stood still with her feet firmly on the ground, staring defiantly back at him to cover up her terror. Molly was still cowering behind Toby, who held her hands and tried to look as brave as Sarah did.

Jemna narrowed her eyes as her elf knights surrounded him, arrows at the ready.

"Stay where you are, Lord of Obsidian," she warned, "You've met Sarah already; now transform and leave us in peace."

Sarah walked down to face the Gargoyle King. Her shoulders were straight, her jaw set.

"Through the terrors of the night," she said formally, "and the sadness of the dark…I will shine in the blackness of your world and return what you have stolen…for where my heart shines…your shadow will never fall."

No one said anything for a while as the conqueror of the Labyrinth had a silent battle of wills with the Gargoyle King. Black fringes of mist began to issue from his body and he slowly smiled with a challenging gleam in his eye that said "bring it on." The black mist covered him and collapsed into itself until it became a crow with a purple-black beak. It swooped around Sarah and screeched at her—not cawed, screeched. It then flew fast at Jareth, flapped inches from his face, and screeched again before flying out of the ballroom.

A black feather drifted to the ground at Sarah's feet. She picked it up and held it in the palm of her hand; the guests were panicking, so Jemna got them all to calm down and commanded another song. Sarah didn't hear any of it.

Two gloved hands closed hers around the feather; she looked up to see the Goblin King looking intently into her eyes; his blue eye was alight with fire.

"I worked against you in the past, and I'm sorry," he murmured, "Will you let me work _with _you this time?"

"Of course, but…Are you okay with going against your own brother?" she asked. He glanced away for a second, then opened her hand and held up the crow's feather.

"You've seen what he's like," he answered, "He bears a hatred for me and Jemna that surpasses all sibling feuds, and it makes him dangerous. I know how he thinks and I know how he fights, but beyond that, I want to protect you. If Jathan were anyone else, I would still fight for you."

Sarah was deeply touched by his dedication and she slipped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. He was soft, especially with his poofy shirt, and he was warm with a wildly beating heart. She smiled; it was the first time she'd ever hugged him.

"I haven't forgotten what you said, either," she said, "You said you wanted to hold me. So hold me."

Was she for real? Was any of this for real? Goblin King or no, Jareth always thought himself so unworthy of her. Now she was letting him fight for her and asking him to hold her!

He wrapped his arms around her and leaned his head on hers; he could feel her heart beating through her back and he felt a thrill inside. How many times had he watched her sleep and wanted to hold her like this, and protect her from the nightmares that must have plagued her? The agony of watching from afar seemed null and void now that she was in his arms like this, safe and protected.

Nearby, Molly asked Jemna, "Your Majesty? Who was that man?" The queen knelt to her with a smile.

"An angry middle child who's asking for attention."

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
GAH!!!! I must apologize for the extreme lateness! I can explain, though! Recently I've started watching "Ouran High School Host Club" on , and it's really cute! I love Tamaki and Honey particularly! Now, then, let's see if there are any references this time…

Obviously, the singer at the ball is a fictional manifestation of Michael Bublé. I can't help it! (And I don't own him; if I did, he'd be singing me to sleep every night!)

Okay, explanation time about Jathan: He's my fan fiction manifestation of Alice Cooper with just a hint of Akito Sohma from Fruits Basket, which is almost what he completely became, but I put a stop to that. Tee-hee! I'm taking all the 60's and 70's singers and putting them in the same royal family!!! Except for Jemna, who is my fan fiction version of Enya…sort of. But mostly she's made up. I hope you guys like Jathan, despite his villany and all that. Oh, and there's a reason he turns into a crow instead of something regal and majestic like the other two.

Oh, yeah: Jemna's introduction of "I'm Jemna and this is my castle" is a tribute to "Return to Labyrinth" vol. 1 (btw, only one month until the 3rd volume comes out! SQUEE!)

And the part where Jareth tugs on his sleeve while he saunters over to his sister is a direct reference to Captain Von Trapp from "The Sound of Music." I thought such a gesture to be appropriate for someone like Jareth! ;)

Oh, and tell me what you think of Molly! She's cute, isn't she? (…) ISN'T SHE? (J/K!) So, yeah: Sorry for the delay! Darn that anime! It'll be the death of me someday…along with manga. :P See y'all next chapter!


	12. Sibling Rivalry

GYAH again!!! I must again beg forgiveness for prolonged lateness! I've been working on other stories (such as my upcoming Kingdom Hearts epic!) and other things, like life. Funny thing, life is…

Anyway, this chapter might be a little shorter, but it's also revealing! I hope you all enjoy it!

* * *

_"Stewie, you shouldn't even be alive, you sniveling little creep."_—Simon Cowell, _Family Guy_

* * *

**Chapter 11: Sibling Rivalry**  
Hoggle, Ludo, and Didymus glued themselves to Sarah after Jathan's departure and they weren't about to let her out of their sight for a second. Toby kept one eye on Sarah, the other on Molly, and both on the sky. Jemna, livid with _both_ her brothers, gave Jareth a good yelling-at in her private study known as the Willow Room, soundly reproaching him for causing a scene in the middle of one of their most important holiday feasts, frightening the entire kingdom, losing his temper, etc., etc. She dropped more D-bombs on him than Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady."

_"You think this is funny?"_ she screeched, catching him trying not to laugh.

"Forgive me, Jem, but," he smiled, "it's just so funny when you swear."

"Is it funny throwing a whole kingdom of elves into a panic on a sacred holiday?" she responded, red-faced and teeth gritted, "Do you know what the Council is going to do to me now? Good goblins, don't even get me started on Lord Gimble."

"Jem, he kidnapped your unicorn," Jareth said quietly, "Not to excuse my behavior, but he stole a unicorn—_your_ unicorn. You can't tell me you weren't that close to bashing him in yourself."

His sister slouched with a sigh.

"I was trying to control myself," she answered morosely, "for Sarah's sake. I wish you'd have done the same."

He lowered his eyes shamefully; he never did like to cause trouble for his sister.

"Compared to what I had in mind, it _was_ self-control," he said, "I'm sorry for causing trouble for you, Jem, but I don't want him anywhere near Sarah."

"That will be difficult once you're in his castle," she said grimly, "Protect her if you must, my brother, but remember that she is the only one who can save Amalthea. Now, if you'll kindly go and bring her here, we can begin planning. And send Toby's friend back home, please; she'll be missed by now, I'm sure." He bowed slightly and strode out of the study. Jemna sighed and held her elbow, rubbing her eyes and nose bridge with her thumb and finger.

"Jay-Jay," she mused to herself. She looked up at a picture on her fireplace mantel of herself with her brothers wearing the fall uniform of the Royal Academy of the Fae—navy blue for her and black for the boys. The uniforms were shoulder pad jackets with the crest of the Fae on the chest pocket; their medallions, signifying them as royalty by birthright, hung down the fronts. Jareth's hair was shorter but still wild; he had his head cocked to the side, touching Jemna's head cutely with his infamous smile, only brighter, more innocent. He had his hand on her shoulder across her back and she hung her hand on his arm, smiling with a wink. Her other arm was slung across Jathan's shoulders and he had a hand across her waist with a serene smile, his hair choppy and hosrt with a frayed look at the ends, but shiny from the light. Jemna's own hair was incredibly short, like a boy's cut; only her bangs were left to grow in curves around her face (for a visual aid, imagine Kisa Sohma's hair…if you read Furuba, that is.)

They were in grade school when that picture was taken; they were so much happier back then, more harmonious, more one in heart and mind. They'd gone everywhere together and done everything together; they'd gotten into and out of trouble together. They'd loved each other, like the Warner siblings from Animaniacs! Or Harry Potter!

That was, of course, before everything changed.

* * *

Jemna looked away from Sarah in the opposite chair, staring into the fire.

"What happened?" she asked as Bilba handed her a cup of herbal tea, "How did it all change so suddenly?"

They were back in their regular clothes now and Jareth was with them, as well as Toby, Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus. Molly had been sent back home with a promise of secrecy in return for a full report of the outcome of this adventure.

"Don't misunderstand, Sarah," Jareth put in, "The three of us as a whole were thick as thieves, but Jathan and I didn't get along very well without Jemna to keep us in line."

Sarah could feel a mounting tension emanating from the royal siblings; something had happened…something dramatic. So Toby and the others were sent out of the room.

Finally, the Elf Queen spoke, her voice thick with sorrow.

"I was 14," she said lowly, "Jay-Jay was 12, and Jarry was 10. One day, I was in another room talking to someone and my brothers were alone together…That was my mistake."

"I sat on the floor by myself, playing with a crystal," said Jareth, "I was pretty good at juggling them and Jathan was nearby one minute, and the next, he was standing over me. I could tell he was angry about something, but at the time, I didn't understand. It's like something within him just snapped.

"With no warning, he swatted the crystal out of my hands and it smashed on the floor. It had been one of the first I ever made myself, so it was very delicate. I started to cry. He scolded me." (The following italics are a flashback from the past, in case anyone's confused.)

_"Cut that out! Don't you know only big babies cry? You can just make another one out of thin air! 'Cause you're just so special, aren't you? Father's little Goblin Prince and Mother's little golden boy! You make me __sick__ with your crying! Quit it! I SAID QUIT IT!"_

He flinched subtly and Sarah guessed accurately what happened next.

"He hurt you," she asked softly, "didn't he?" He looked away, as if the pain in his own eyes might hurt her, too.

"I blame myself," Jemna's flinty voice trembled as she tried to stay calm, "The signs were there, but I, um…(swallow)…I just never saw them.

"When I heard Jarry screaming, I burst into the room. I saw Jathan with a card in his hand with blood dripping off of it. I saw Jareth with his fists over his eyes; blood was creeping between the knuckles of his right hand and spattering the floor…" Her eyes closed painfully and she whispered, "I screamed!"

_"AAH! JARRY! HURRY, LET'S GET YOU TO THE INFIRMARY!"_

_"MY EYE HURTS! I CAN'T SEE!"_

_"WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"_

_"JAY-JAY HURT MY EYE!"_

"He didn't go blind, thank God," she said, "but that's why the pupil of his blue eye is smaller than the one in his brown eye."

"Ohh." Sarah had always noticed but never thought to ask. "That's…that's awful." She looked up at him; he was standing by a window with his arms folded and his back turned.

Jareth felt her soft eyes on him from across the room, her footsteps as she walked to him, her delicate hand as it touched the right half of his face—carefully, as if she was afraid to hurt him again. He didn't look at her once.

_'No, Sarah,'_ he wanted to say, _'Don't' touch me; my flaws, my scars, my pain, they'll only hurt you, too.'_ But he didn't say anything; he just stood there and memorized the feel of her fingertips near his eye and he hated himself for being so weak and selfish. Why would Sarah allow herself to be anywhere near something as bruised and dark as him? An angel taking pity on a devil…

He stopped; her forehead was against his shoulder and she was holding onto his arm with her hair curtaining her face again.

His sleeve felt wet where her face was; good goblins, she was crying!

Dang it! Why was he always the one that made her cry?

"Sarah…" He gently took hold of her. "It's all right. Look…" He lifted her chin and made her look him in the eyes.

"We didn't tell you all this to make you cry or to pity me," he smiled amusingly, "We wanted you to understand why Jathan is so dangerous. Do you?"

She stared in his eyes as the tears fell; she was thinking.

"I think I do," she said calmly, "He holds a grudge against you for being the baby…in a nutshell." She looked at Jemna. "Is that right?" Jemna nodded once.

"Jathan was only two years old when Jarry was born," she explained, "but he had an unusually large attention span. Becoming the middle child…he hated that. He hated feeling like he had to compete with a newborn for the attention of our parents. I was always there for him, but…he never let go of his anger toward his baby brother."

Sarah felt her heart twinge; if _that_ didn't sound familiar.

"Jemna." She marched over to the Elf Queen. "I'm ready to save your unicorn; take me to the Gargoyle City." Both Fae looked surprised at her; that _was_ why she was here in the first place, but this declaration seemed a bit random.

"Are you sure you're ready now, Sarah?" asked the queen.

"I'm sure," she nodded firmly, "The longer Amalthea's in the castle of the Gargoyle King, the more danger she's in. I think I can save her without bloodshed; all you have to do is get me there." Jemna shared a look with her brother and nodded.

"All right," she said as she removed one of her pendulum earrings, "Bilba, ask Toby and the inhabitants of the Labyrinth to come back."

When they did, they all gathered in a circle with Jemna, who held her earring in her right palm. It magically stood up on its end and spun like a top with a green glow.

"Pretty," commented Ludo. That made Sarah smile and pat his arm. An image appeared above the spinning pendulum; it was a huge black building resembling the Notre Dame Cathedral in France, only more forbidden-looking, like Dracula's castle.

"This is my brother's home," explained Jemna, "the castle Obsidian, named for the black stone it was built of. Charming, isn't it? Surrounding it is a vast lake as black as the castle, infested with mermaids."

"Mermaids?" Sarah lit up.

"Not the ones you're thinking of, Sarah," Jareth cut in, "These mermaids have blinding white razor sharp teeth, perverted minds, swim around topless, and if a drop of blood falls in the water, they'll go into a frenzy. If a _person_ falls in the water…well, it depends on their mood, and whether they're hungry or not." Sarah looked both disappointed and creeped out; he made them sound like sharks!

"I guess I should've expected that after getting bitten by a fairy," she said, "Right, Hoggle?"

"What did you think mermaids did, sat on rocks and sang to sailors?" he asked mockingly.

"Well, yeah," she said simply.

"Hmph!" he chuckled, "Didn't you learn nothin' in the Labyrinth?"

"Ahem," said Jareth as he eyed him threateningly, "Are you quite through, Henhouse?"

"Hoggle," the dwarf muttered, "Y-yes…Your Majesty."

"All right," said Jemna, "Now pay attention: There's a small boat on the shores of the black lake that will ferry you to the castle for a price. Exactly what that is, I don't know; I always just fly over.

"Now—there's something else you should know; I hope you wont' have to use this knowledge, but you never know…

"Gargoyles are made of stone; they're very strong, very swift of wing, can see perfectly in the dark, and they have a deep sense of pride that more often than not proves to be their undoing. The only surefire way to kill a gargoyle is to either stab him in the heart with a knife of stone, crush him with a big rock, or splash water on him so he can't fly (they can't fly with wet wings) and shove him into the lake. Gargoyles can't swim, since they're made of stone, and they'll sink to the bottom and drown. They turn into statues in the daylight and they're more vulnerable that way, but since its' now night, the sun's not an option. Any questions?"

"Do I have to stay?" Toby asked.

"Yes," said everyone.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Toby," said Sarah as she touched his head, "I need for you to stay here in the Elf Kingdom with Queen Jemna. Can you do that for me?" Toby gazed sadly into his sister's eyes as if he'd missed a trip to the candy store.

"But Sir Didymus says a brave man never turns his back when he can fight," he pouted.

"My dear boy," Didymus stammered, flustered, "Thou art still but a wee lad! Thou hast no experience in the ways of battle! 'Twould be a great dishonor to endanger thee."

Toby hung his head. Ludo gently placed his gigantic hand on top of the boy's small head.

"Toby stay here," he rumbled, "Ludo take care of Sarah." Toby looked at him and smiled as he hugged Ludo's huge arm, burrowing his face into his coarse rust-colored fur.

"Okay, Ludo," he said, relenting, "I'll stay here." He jumped to hug Sarah around the waist with his feet popping up in the air.

"Come back safe, okay?" he said, "I love you." Sarah bent over and hugged him back, her cheek resting on his shaggy hair.

"I love you, too," she murmured, "my little goblin prince." She kissed the crown of his head and straightened up.

"Take care of him, Jemna," she beamed, "He can be a handful when he wants to be!" The queen beamed back.

"I have a feeling we'll get along well," she chimed as she held hands with Toby, who smiled as well.

"Take care of my sister, Jareth!" he said, "You took, Hoggle!"

Jemna and the Goblin Prince stood across from Sarah and the Goblin King, with the inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Jareth held out his right hand and summoned a crystal. It glowed with a radiant light that grew until it filled the room and blocked Toby and Jemna from sight. Sarah was alarmed for a moment when she found she couldn't see anything, but she felt an arm wrap around her and pull her close to the body of the Goblin King.

"Don't be frightened," he murmured in her ear.

"I'm not frightened," she responded breathlessly, not fooling him for a second. He merely chuckled and kept his hold on her with a warm fondness until the light faded and disappeared, revealing before her what looked like an island with a stone city and a towering cathedral in the center in the middle of a vast, inky black lake that quietly lapped at the ashen shores near her feet. The sky was almost as dark as the island and its lake. To her right, a large boat that looked like an Italian gondolier stood beached with a haggard old woman standing by it, small and hunched over, a long rowing staff in her gnarled hand, her flimsy white hair hanging like ivy over her eyes. Her clothes were brown and tattered at the ends like rags and her feet were bare and toughened underneath. She drew in a long breath through her nose.

"Goblins," her voice cracked like she hadn't spoken for decades, "Three of them. Their king…and a human." She raised her head and looked at them, her eyes such a pale shade of blue that Sarah wondered if she was blind.

Beside her, Jareth half-smiled.

"Good evening, Natella," he greeted, "Care to give someone a lift?"

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**Author's Review****:**  
ANOTHER CLIFFY! Hooray!

Okay, references…

Rex Harrison played the male lead in the musical/movie "My Fair Lady," and he was always dropping the D-word through the whole thing. Good grief!

As I explained before, young Jemna's hair is modeled after Kisa Sohma from Fruits Basket. For those of you who don't read or watch that, let me explain it: The two front locks of her hair curve all the way down her face while the rest of it is cut short below her ears. That's the best way I know to describe it.

I guess I made the gargoyles kinda like the ones from the cartoon, "Gargoyles." Anybody remember that one? I didn't watch it that often, but it was there.

Natella's name is taken from the Italian name "Donatella," the female derivation of the Renaissance artist, Donatello. I think it's rather pretty! And she's modeled after Hama from that one episode of "Avatar." That's the only episode I've never let my siblings watch, 'cause…come on! Blood bending? That's a bit much for a kid's show. But I digress.

Hope you enjoyed this! And please wait for me!


	13. Natella and Adeline

Okay, I'm just gonna explain something to y'all that I probably haven't explained before…

The way I write my stories is I handwrite them in a notebook first and then I type it up on the compy for you to enjoy ('cause let's face it, my left-handed chicken scratch is virtually illegible, LOL). Another thing, I space out the chapters I upload because I want to catch up in the notebook. For instance, I haven't uploaded for a little bit because I hadn't written much in the notebook for a while, so I had to slow down to catch up ^_^. Tee-hee! I hope I explained that well enough. Now, then—enough talking!

I believe they were just about to catch a ride with the old lady!

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_"Why, you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, and that's not saying much for you."_—Groucho Marx, _Animal Crackers_ (very funny, everyone should see it)

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**Chapter 12: Natella and Adeline**  
"King Jareth," the old woman responded respectfully but warily, "You should not have come here. Your death sits on that island and he knows you're coming."

Okay, _now_ Sarah was frightened. The old woman turned her eyes on her and she slowly went over to her; if there was a graceful way to limp, she had it.

The ferrier stopped; she was a quarter-head shorter than Sarah and she looked into her eyes.

"What is your name, child?" she asked, her voice warmer now that she'd spoken more. Sarah blinked.

"S-Sarah," she answered, "Um…nice to meet you." The old one chuckled.

"Indeed," she said, "The child who defeated the Labyrinth; you've chosen well, my Lord Jareth—so polite, so pretty."

Sarah didn't know what she meant by "chosen well," but this wasn't the time for that.

"The honor is mine, Sarah," she bowed with her arms out, "I am Natella the Mariner, Ferry Woman of the Black Lake. It will be my pleasure to welcome you aboard my poor vessel." She motioned her hand to the big black boat that rode low in the water, just close enough for a mermaid to tug any one of them overboard.

Sarah brushed the thought aside as quickly as it had come; she couldn't think about that! She had a mission!

"Well," she chirped to her goblin friends, "Come on, guys! Unicorns don't rescue themselves!"

She marched briskly onto the boat with Hoggle and Didymus/Ambrosious close behind; Ludo followed shortly, then Jareth, then Natella.

"All aboard," she called, her voice rich as chocolate as she shoved off. It amazed Sarah that such an old, frail-looking woman had the strength to row a boat with so much weight, i.e. Ludo.

"Please situate yourselves on the floor," said Natella as she rowed effortlessly, "Try to even out your weight, but keep away from the sides—the mermaids are jumping tonight and they know I have passengers."

Jareth tensed up inside as the boat glided smoothly over the glossy water, polished with moonlight that wavered behind them. He wasn't sure how he was going to help Sarah without interfering in her mission. Sir Didymus was tough and brave, albeit annoying and overzealous; Hoggle could hold his own, he guessed, but Ludo made him curious: The yeti could call rocks, and gargoyles were basically living stone. What would happen if he howled at a gargoyle?

Ludo himself was nervous and fidgeted, curling his lips at the dark water. Sarah noticed and held his arm comfortingly.

"It's all right, Ludo," she said gently, "Don't be nervous." And she hummed a soft song while stroking his fur and that seemed to calm him down.

Jareth froze in his stance—leaning against the tall back end of the boat with his arms folded—and stared in disbelief at the back of Sarah's head. He _knew_ this song!

"Tickle my tail and tangle my hair," said a slightly shrill female voice, "A virgin's song is in the air!"

_'Oh, goblins,'_ Jareth thought as he rolled his eyes closed, _'Why did they have to surface now?'_

Sarah looked curiously to starboard (right) and saw the owner of the voice: A pearly skinned woman was swimming next to them with her thick black hair floating behind her down to her bottom, her dark teal eyes on Sarah with her pale lips smiling over her diamond-white, razor sharp teeth! Sarah was amazed! Jareth, on the other hand, wanted to turn invisible; maybe if he didn't move, she wouldn't notice.

"You're a mermaid, aren't you?" asked Sarah in awe.

"Yeah, that's right." She flipped out the flimsy blue fins of her tail to illustrate, then stopped and sniffed the air.

"I smell goblins," she said quickly and looked at her friends. "Oh, my gosh. That means…" She whipped her head back and saw Jareth, her eyes flying wide.

_'D—it,'_ he thought irritably, _'I was afraid of this.'_ Her girlish scream was like a cross between a seagull and a dolphin. Sarah covered her ears and ducked against Ludo, who shielded her with one arm and his head with the other, groaning in pain. Hoggle plopped on his bottom with his ears covered, stomping a foot on the floor in frustration. Ambrosious whined and howled while his master just stared incredulously at the mermaid, no doubt wondering why she was screaming like that. It didn't seem to bother him or Natella; if it bothered his king, he wasn't showing it a wit.

"HOLY CRAP, IT'S THE GOBLIN KING!" she burst with her hands on her face before diving back into the water. Jareth released the breath he was holding and massaged his forehead and nose bridge with his thumb and finger.

"This is precisely why I rule goblins and not mermaids," he mumbled, then asked, "Is everyone all right?"

"Ugh," Sarah grunted as she sat up, "What was _that_ all about?" Jareth walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"Even in this world, I have something my brother doesn't…" he told her vexingly. She looked curiously at him and heard the splashes of about half a dozen mermaids popping their heads out of the water in a group fit of giggles and squeaks very close to their boat, wearing all sorts of necklaces and bracelets made of pearls strung on reeds and (strangely enough) seaweed.

"Oh, my gosh, it _is _him!" said one.

"Hi, Jareth!" some of them waved and smiled, reminding Sarah of cheerleaders.

"…A fan club," he finished blandly. Sarah snorted back a laugh.

"I, uh," her voice trembled as she tried not to giggle, "I didn't know you had one."

_'She finds it amusing?'_ he thought weirdly, _'Well, at least she's not jealous…not that there's a reason to be.'_

"King Jareth!" chirped a blonde mermaid as they swam with the boat, "Will you sing for us today? You know us mermaids—we love music, and we haven't heard the sound of your voice in such a long time." She sighed coquettishly to illustrate her point and some of the others agreed.

"Watch this," Jareth whispered mischievously to Sarah before leaning over to make eye contact with the mermaid who had spoken.

"I'm sorry, ladies," he said sweetly, "but I'm so overwhelmed at your exceeding beauty that my voice fails me entirely; no song in the world could match your loveliness." This sent them into a fresh giggle fest and they flitted about the water like fish; the blond propped herself on the boat on her elbows with her long hair covering her chest.

"Even if you don't sing, Your Highness," she said, "your speaking voice is sweet enough for us."

_CLANG!_ Natella's heavy metal pole connected with the side of the mermaid's head, but it had about as much impact on her as if someone had smacked her with a hand.

"Ow!" she cried, annoyed as she rubbed her head, "Natella!" Sarah had her mouth covered with shock as she looked at the mermaid, then at the old woman, who was holding her long pole like a headmaster with a yardstick.

"Don't 'Natella' me, Julia!" she scolded, "You know the rules! Hands and tails in the water at all times! I don't care _who_ I'm toting! Now back off! Shoo!"

Julia the mermaid grumbled and slid back; when the rowing resumed, she smiled slyly and tossed Jareth a seaweed-and-pearl bracelet. Sarah crawled over to the side.

"Are you okay?" she asked, still freaked out about the pole-whacking.

"Eh," she shrugged, "It's no big. So…who are _you_, may I ask?"

"I'm Sarah," she answered. Julia slowed to a glide with wide eyes.

"Not _the_ Sarah?" she said shockingly, "Not the you-have-no-power-over-me Sarah?" Sarah blushed uncomfortably and sensed their conversation attracting the attention of the Goblin King.

"Um, yeah," she shrugged, "That was me." Julia stared at her again, then slowly narrowed her eyes and dove back into the water, splashing Sarah with her black tail.

_"Tramp!"_ she called as she swam off a little ways. Sarah sat there, wet and confused, until she heard the Goblin King's laughter behind her. She spun her head back to glare at him.

"That's not funny!" she sputtered.

"On the contrary, love," he chuckled, "From where I'm sitting, it's quite humorous." Even so, he tossed her a crystal that turned into a towel, which flopped over her face. She tore it off.

"Thanks," she said stiffly.

"I wouldn't worry about Julia too much," said a younger voice from the water, "She's just jealous."

Sarah turned to see a mermaid that looked 12 or 14 years old with long, pale orange hair and dark blue eyes with a somewhat rosier glow than the others and a nearly flat chest; she also had a sweeter smile than the others.

"Jealous?" Sarah asked, "Of what?"

"Of you being the thief of the Goblin King's heart," she answered, which made Sarah hold her towel up to her face in embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" asked the mermaid as she swam closer without touching the boat, "Did I say something to embarrass you? I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," she smiled in spite of herself, "You're fine. My name's Sarah, by the way."

"I know," said the mermaid, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Addie; it's short for Adeline, just like the song!" Sarah giggled and leaned on the railing.

"So what's it like living here?" she asked, "Do you like it?"

"Oh, I don't live here," Addie answered, "I'm just visiting from my home under the ocean; I live in the sea kingdom Aquarius! But this lake isn't bad for a quiet weekend. I'm going back home soon for school. I'll be in ninth grade this year! What grade are you in?"

"12th," Sarah replied, "I'm a high school senior this year."

"Wow," said Addie, "Is it true you humans have a prom in high school where you dance and wear beautiful dresses?"

"Yeah," she nodded, "Don't you guys have something like that?"

"Well, yeah," said the mermaid, "We have the Pearl Ball, but we just twirl around in circles holding hands. I've seen humans dance before, and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Someday I want to dance at a high school prom!"

"And I bet you'll be wonderful at it, if Hans Christian Andersen is right about mermaids," said Sarah, "Maybe I'll invite you to _my_ prom!" The young mermaid's face lit up.

"I'd love that," she sparkled. They both then heard splashing, giggling, and a dog whining. They looked port; some of the other mermaids were splashing Ambrosious!

"Cease and desist!" Sir Didymus was shouting as he brandished his staff at them, "Stop this, I say! Stop it at once! My loyal steed is very sensitive about getting wet!"

_"Daughters!"_ Natella shouted sharply, "What have I told you about teasing the passengers? If I have to stop this boat, I know some tail fins that are going to get clipped!"

Sarah got up and went over to Didymus and Ambrosious.

"Sir Didymus," she asked, "Are you and Ambrosious oka—"

The wind was suddenly knocked out of her when Julia shot out of the water, tackled her like a football player, and dove back into the lake with her in an arch. She was swiftly followed by three other cheering mermaids, one of which was the black-haired one that had first spoken.

_"Sarah!"_ Addie shrieked and dove after them, _"No!"_

"Sarah!" Hoggle cried out.

"SARAH!" Ludo bellowed.

"My lady!" shouted Didymus as he jumped for it, "Fear not, my lady! I shall save thee!"

_Plunk!_ A few mermaids swam in a frenzy to surround the spot where Sir Didymus had jumped in; he surfaced in a fit of barking and took them all on.

Jareth hadn't said anything; the second Sarah's body had hit the water, he was after her in a heartbeat. He was thankful he could hold his breath for a long time (half an hour) and could swim almost as fast as a mermaid could. Only a mermaid could swim faster than a Fae.

That being said, let's switch over to Addie for a minute; she was flipping her fins as fast as she could to get to her new friend before her freshwater cousins did something terrible to her!

"Julia!" she called, "Elaine! Don't take her any further down! It's too deep down here!"

It was true; they were nearly at the bottom of the lake, and Sarah hadn't been given a chance to take a breath before this!

"Please, stop!" she pleaded as she fish-lined it to them, "She'll _drown_ if you keep her down here!"

"Exactly!" spat Julia, "She deserves it after the way she treated King Jareth! Besides…" She smiled evilly at Sarah, who was clinging to consciousness by a thread.

"I hear virgins taste pretty good." She showed her white sharp teeth, brighter underwater.

"NO!" Addie screamed and snatched Sarah around the waist and flitted with her behind Jareth, who stared daggers at the mermaids. His anger could even be felt in the stifling silence of the water and they were afraid to move. Seizing an opportunity, Addie quickly pinched Sarah's nose, cupped her chin, and breathed into her, mouth-to-mouth; the borrowed air filled Sarah's lungs like a waterfall on a forest fire and she opened her eyes and covered her nose and mouth to keep the air in.

"Are you okay, Sarah?" Addie asked anxiously. Sarah looked her in the eye and nodded vigorously and Addie knew she couldn't hold that breath for too long.

"King Jareth!" she called. Jareth quickly swam over to them and grabbed Sarah.

"Hurry and get her up top!" said Addie, "I'll hold them off!" Jareth nodded and kicked upward as fast as his legs could propel him while Sarah kept holding her face with her eyes pinched shut, huddled against the Goblin King.

Just when she thought she couldn't hold it anymore, they broke the surface and Sarah gulped the cold night air, then coughed it back out because the cold hurt her lungs. She kept coughing and gulping after Jareth hoisted her back onto the boat and rolled himself over the side, where he lay on his back to catch his breath while Sarah was tended to by Hoggle and Ludo. Didymus was still giving his mermaid opponents a good thrashing from inside the boat (all the while calling them "ruffians, hooligans, and juvenile delinquents") while Ambrosious barked at his side like a cheerleader.

Sarah hugged Hoggle limply and shivered. Presently, her coughs turned into sobs and she hung her head down with her hair plastered against her shirt. Jareth knelt behind her and gently touched her. Hearing her sob like that put a lump in his own throat; she'd nearly drowned! He'd nearly lost her again!

"Sarah…" he murmured, his voice almost cracking. He swallowed. "It's all right." He brought her into his arms, her head still down and burrowed into the little dip between his shoulder and collarbone. He rubbed her back and rocked a little.

"It's all right, Sarah," he said softly, "You're safe. You're surrounded by people who love you. Shh, it's all right."

"I never…" she panted, "want to meet…any more of your fan girls…ever again." In spite of himself, Jareth laughed with relief.

"Join the club," he said ironically as Addie surfaced.

"Are you okay, Sarah?" she asked.

"Yes," Sarah answered, "Thank you, Addie. You saved my life." She tightened her grip on Jareth's sleeve and quietly added to him, "You both did."

Tiny droplets dripped slowly from Jareth's hair and onto her head or his shirt or wherever they happened to fall, his clothes soaked to his skin; he looked at Addie, who still watched Sarah fearfully. Behind her, the older mermaids surfaced in random spots and in somber silence.

"What is your name, child?" Jareth asked formally and quietly. Sarah looked at her.

"Adeline, sir," the mermaid bowed shortly. Sarah saw Jareth smile fondly at Addie, recognizing it as the way he always smiled at Toby.

_'What's he going to do?'_ she wondered. The other mermaids were obviously thinking the same thing.

"Sweet Adeline," Jareth spoke up, "you have the gratitude of the Goblin King. You shall be greatly rewarded for what you've done."

The mermaids whispered amongst themselves as Addie's eyes widened.

"Please, sir!" she objected with an embarrassed blush, "I don't ask for a reward, I just want Sarah to be safe!"

"You wouldn't refuse me the honor of giving you a token of my appreciation, would you?" asked the Goblin King.

"Well…no," Addie half-smiled sheepishly, "I suppose not."

"Then don't," he smiled, summoning a crystal, "Here. When spring arrives under the sea, swim to the surface at sunset on the third day and make your fondest wish and it will come true."

Eyes sparkling and mouth agape, Addie held out her small pale hand to accept the Goblin King's gift. She held it and stared at its full moon luster with humility.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," she breathed with her head bowed, "I—I am honored!" The other mermaids grumbled jealously as the boat continued on its way.

"But Your Majesty!" Julia objected as she glided alongside them to starboard, "Isn't this the girl who bested the Labyrinth and rejected you for a baby?"

"The same," he answered stonily with his jaw set.

"So why are you here with her now?" she demanded, "How could you possibly have forgiven her for that?"

The Goblin King was silent for some time, still holding Sarah in his arms.

_'I've been wondering that myself,'_ Sarah thought. Finally, he sighed.

"Because part of loving someone," he said with his eyes closed, "is forgiving them, no matter what…being there for them, even if they don't know it. (He cupped her wet head and leaned over her.) At least…that's what I've always thought."

Suddenly feeling awkward and a little ashamed, Julia and the mermaids that had attacked began to back off, leaving Addie to swim alongside Natella's boat as it glided over the glassy black lake to the dark castle that loomed treacherously over them.

* * *

_Inside the dark audience chamber, the slim king lounged across his hard black throne carved from the same stone as his castle. He held a Queen of Hearts that acted as a magic mirror, showing him the approach of his hated brother and the young adult that had ensnared his heart._

_He narrowed his eyes in confusion: What did Jareth __see__ in that girl? She was a high school student barely come of age—a child! She couldn't even fight off those obnoxious mermaids! She wasn't that pretty, either, with her dull green eyes and her gaunt hair and freckles that showed up in the water. And what was she __wearing__? Jeans and a shirt? Heaven forbid! No wonder Jemna was so fond of her!_

_"Sire," spoke his captain of the guard in a low bass voice, "shall I prepare the gauntlet?" The king thought for a moment and nodded._

_"While you're at it," he added, "extend an invitation to His Majesty; I should very much like to see my dear brother again." The captain bowed with a fist to his chest and strode out of the room. The king turned his attention back to his card._

_"Soon, brother," he smiled sickly, "we shall see if your princess is worth her mettle."_

_With a wicked laugh, he stood up and flung the card at a candle, neatly slicing off the top half, still lit._

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**Author's Review****:**  
There's actually a small history behind Natella, but it's not part of this story…  
Natella actually used to be one of the mermaids that lived in the lake, but Jathan needed a ferry woman to give rides across the lake and the only thing that can handle the strength and annoying girlishness of a lake mermaid is a lake mermaid! So Natella took the job because she was the most mature and calm. Hooray!

Did you guys notice the reference to the old song "Sweet Adeline?" I hope so; it's cute! Addie's adorable! And don't ask me how she was able to give underwater CPR. IT'S MAGIC.

And I think that's it for this time. See ya!


	14. Sarah Runs The Gauntlet

Greetings, readers! Thanks for waiting…again. I hope you all enjoyed our little underwater adventure, 'cause this is where the rescue starts to kick in! So buckle your seatbelts! And by the way, **I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE SONGS IN THIS CHAPTER.**

Also: THIS CHAPTER IS SPECIALLY DEDICATED TO WHOEVER MADE THAT LABYRINTH VIDEO ON YOUTUBE OF THE LIVE VERSION OF "BEAUTIFUL DISASTER." IF YOU KNOW WHO DID IT OR YOU ARE THE ONE WHO MADE IT, PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN FAVORITE THE VIDEO, 'CAUSE I CAN'T FIND IT! That is all.

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_"Hell has not seen nor Heaven created the one who can prevail against me."_—Don Quixote, _Man of LaMancha_

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**Chapter 13: Sarah Runs the Gauntlet**  
The ferry boat was almost to the shore now, and Sarah started to focus more on her task.

_'Where would I keep a unicorn in a castle like that?'_ she wondered, _'And what will I have to do to get to her?'_

"Sarah." The voice was so young that for a moment, it sounded like Toby; she looked and saw it was only Addie, her mermaid friend.

"I…" said Addie, "I want to give you this…you know, should you happen to fall in the lake again."

"Oh?" Sarah moved over to the side curiously. Addie revealed her left wrist, around which was a seaweed bracelet with about five or six pearls on it a few inches apart; several mermaids were wearing similar accessories. She removed it and slipped it around Sarah's left wrist.

"Here," she said, "It's a mermaid's gift to a mortal, so it'll protect you from danger in the water! I want you to keep it in case…I'm not here to protect you again." Sarah smiled adoringly at her and held her hand.

"Thank you, Addie," she said sincerely, "I'll keep it forever."

"You're welcome!" Addie brightened, "I'll swim around the island and keep watch for you if you need me, 'kay?"

"Thanks," Sarah beamed, "but don't get yourself hurt, okay?" Addie nodded and held Sarah's hand back.

"This is as far as I can go, Sarah," she said sadly, "but I'll be watching and praying for you, I promise."

"Don't worry about me, Addie," Sarah replied gently, "I've got my friends with me."

"And the Goblin King," Addie softly reminded her. She stopped moving with the boat and their hands slid apart; Addie stayed where she was with some of the other mermaids dotted behind her and Sarah leaned over the side with her hair hanging over the water.

"Come and see me, okay?" she called as the boat left the mermaids behind, "I'll invite you to my prom!"

"I will!" Addie waved, "I promise!"

Sarah waved a bit more and looked at the bracelet she'd given her; each pearl was as luminous as the moonlight it reflected. A gloved hand closed around hers gently; she half-turned to see Jareth and he surprised her by hugging her sideways with a slight fierceness.

"Jareth, what's wrong?" she asked, stunned.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he whispered into her hair, "I've come all this way with you and now I'm useless."

"What are you talking about?" she asked lowly, aware of how incredibly close together they were. Her forehead was nestled snugly against his throat; she was sure he felt the fever she was getting from this closeness…but was too preoccupied to acknowledge it.

"I can't come with you," he answered, tightening his hold on her, "My brother has summoned me to his castle. I'm afraid I can't refuse him." His hand wove its way into her hair, at the back of her head.

_'Huh?'_ she thought confusingly.

"Why not?" she asked, watching as the island came closer to them.

"You might not understand," he said, "but let's just say it goes against my instincts."

Her fist instinctively clutched his shirt sleeve; this did _not_ feel good!

"I don't want you to go," she blurted, "He's going to do something to you, I know it!" She felt his throat move with his chuckle.

"I don't doubt it," he smiled, "but I'll be all right, and so will you. I'll be watching you, Sarah."

He pulled her face back and met her eyes softly; he was close enough to kiss her and he wanted to so badly. He wanted to wrap her up in one arm, summon a crystal, and take her back to his castle, where she'd be safe (well…saf**er**) with the goblins and the Labyrinth, away from his vindictive brother and his macabre surroundings. Instead, he was forced to content himself with holding her for one moment and drink in her presence as much as he could.

His hands moved to the sides of her hand and the ridge of his nose to her forehead. His eyes closed.

"I'm always watching you," he whispered slowly before kissing her forehead with as much tenderness as if he'd kissed her lips. Now Sarah knew: There was no point in asking him to stay.

Jareth had to actually remove her hands from him now; she'd let herself get to a point where she felt like she wouldn't be able to breathe without him. His absence would be tantamount to an abrupt cut-off of her oxygen; what she didn't know was how painful it was for him as well. Every step he'd have to take away from her would be like walking on live coals; every ticking of the clock would be a razor sharp stab in his heart. The fact that he'd be with his brother didn't help, either.

Without warning or another word from him, Sarah's hair blew across her face in a sudden gust of wind. She quickly moved it away just in time to see a beautiful owl flying toward the top towers of Castle Oblivion. A few feathers drifted down to her like a protective charm; she reached out and caught one. Natella caught another one. Sarah turned to her; she was chuckling.

"Lord Jareth has style, I'll give him that," she said, "And he hasn't stiffed me on your fee, either." She held up her feather; it was golden brown and dusted with starlight.

"Paid in full," said Natella, "Now go, Sarah. And be careful."

"Thank you, Natella," Sarah replied, "I will. Come on, guys! Let's save ourselves a unicorn!"

* * *

To have said the island sand was soft and fine would have been a gross understatement; it was more like sand that had gone through a coffee grinder or a flour sifter. It was black inside and ashen gray on top and made no sound as the boat dropped up on it. There was a silence all around that made Sarah depressed. She felt Ludo's fur brush behind her and heard him whimper. She turned and held his arm.

"It's okay, Ludo," she smiled, "We'll be all right as long as we stay together. Right, guys?"

"Right!" beamed Hoggle.

"Verily!" cheered Didymus from his steed, "We are with thee to the very end, my lady!" Sarah nodded and took her first steps on the Island of the Gargoyle City.

At first there was nothing but the dark soft sand and a terrain of jagged black stone that shone like deadly polished daggers, as if the gargoyles had sliced them themselves fro their king's castle. They made Sarah think.

_"The only surefire way to kill a gargoyle is to either stab him in the heart with a knife of stone…"_ she remembered Jemna's words. She trotted over to a normal sized-looking pile of the sharp black rocks and chose one that was halfway between a sword and a dagger; it felt good in her hand and handled well when she tried it out. Its bottom made an excellent hilt, too!

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" said Hoggle as he hopped over to choose one for himself. He turned it over and gnawed around the bottom to make a hilt.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Sarah asked amazingly.

"About as much as a baby with a teething ring," he chuckled.

"Well met, Sir Hoggle!" Didymus chirped, "Now that we are well-armed, onward and upward!"

Sarah led the way uphill with Hoggle and Didymus flanking her and Ludo bravely lumbering behind.

Soon the barren land began to look almost civilized as they passed many crude enclosures of black stone with boundaries drawn, jagged rocks side by side to make fences, and a strange symbol carved over each "house" that looked like ancient Norse runes. No one was around.

"Where is everyone?" Sarah whispered nervously. Hoggle patted her arm.

"Look," he pointed quietly. Straight ahead was a massive wall of smooth, shiny, _very_ pointy black marble. Sarah guessed this must be the city wall.

The black clouds parted and the moon cast a beam on the topmost peak; it shone with a "sheen!" sound that got louder and brighter. Sarah gasped.

"Look out!" she exclaimed as a shower of black rocks rained down toward them. They quickly ran to an overhang for shelter from the bombardment.

"What's going on?" Sarah shouted.

"It was a signal!" Hoggle answered, "They somehow knew we were coming!"

The rocks continued to fall; Ludo was getting more and more frightened by the minute until finally, he howled in fear—loud and long. Sir Didymus gasped.

"Look yonder, my lady!" he shouted above the noise. Sarah looked and also gasped in amazement.

The gargoyles that were throwing rocks were falling! Ludo's howl was calling them down, pulling them to the earth! The rocks they'd thrown were tumbling to the goblins and building a fence around them!

"I've got an idea!" Sarah said as she climbed over the rocky fence, "Ludo! Every time you see a gargoyle, howl at him, okay?"

"A most fortuitous plan, my lady!" chirped Didymus as he hurtled the rocks on Ambrosious.

"Hoggle," she continued, "when a gargoyle comes at us, we'll destroy it with our swords, okay?" He nodded and stood by her with his crude sword at the ready.

"Everybody keep close to Ludo, all right?" said Sarah. They nodded.

"Okay!" she shouted, "Charge!" They ran out from the overhang toward the city walls. The rocks kept coming, but Ludo's howling virtually shielded them. He set his sights on a gargoyle and howled at him; he came flying at them against his will, flailing and screaming.

_'Stab him in the heart…'_ Jemna's words replayed again in her head, then her own thoughts. _'I have to hit him straight in the heart.'_ She drew back, focusing on her target; when he was close enough, she thrust forward, putting all her weight into her sword as it made a clean cut into the middle of his chest. He made a slight gagging sound and his limbs flew forward shortly before Sarah sent him arching over her head, yanking her sword out as he went. She turned back her head briefly to watch his body turn to dust as he rolled across the ground.

"Nice shot, Sarah!" said Hoggle as he jumped and killed a second one, "Heeyah! Woo-hoo!"

"You too, Hoggle!" she smiled. They continued to proceed in this fashion and finally made their way to the wall. They could see no door, no drawbridge, nothing but gargoyle guards at the tip top.

"Look, my lady!" said Didymus, "The guards have withdrawn!" Sarah craned her neck and looked up the sheerness of the wall; sure enough, they were gone. Ludo must have scared them.

"Now what?" asked Hoggle.

"I guess we knock," Sarah shrugged simply and knocked on the wall like it was someone's door. A hole appeared and widened to Ludo's size; they stood back. Sarah gasped when an almond-shaped pair of exotic, electric green eyes slit open in the dark with cat's pupils. Sarah straightened up, narrowed her eyes, and took a big breath, summoning all her courage.

"My name is Sarah," she said clearly, "I wish to enter the Gargoyle City!"

A strange sound answered her, a sort of purring sound, and the eyes squinted as if their owner was smiling.

"How droll," said a sultry female voice. A lion's paw stepped out of the darkness and Sarah's heart jumped back in her throat when she saw a lion emerge from the wall as high as her head with a beautiful woman's face and honey blonde hair shaped like a mane and, tucked neatly behind her strong shoulders, a beautiful pair of huge, powerful wings with each feather in place. She was beautiful for a sphinx…or a griffin, whichever it was. Sarah wasn't sure if she was more awed or terrified. She sat gracefully on her haunches.

"Welcome, Sarah," she smiled warmly, "My name is Lea. I am the gatekeeper of the Gargoyle City." Sarah blinked.

"You mean you work for Jathan?" she said, perplexed. Lea nodded.

"It's not such a bad job," she said, "not if you don't mind the years of isolation, the stifling darkness, the endless tormenting and mistreatment of the gargoyles, not to mention the lousy pay. (…) But other than that, it's not bad!"

"Uh…" Sarah said awkwardly, "So, what do I do to pass through your gate…Lea?"

"Sing," she answered simply.

"Oh!" Sarah perked up, "Really? Is that all?"

"Not so fast," Lea lifted her tail, "You must sing three songs, and each must apply to the criteria I give you. Does it still sound easy?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied, fake-sure, "Sure! Why not?"

"Very well," Lea nodded, "You will sing three songs for me from the very core of your heart and I will admit you into the Gargoyle City. Are you ready?"

Sarah cleared her throat and hummed a few times, then straightened up.

"Yes," she lifted her chin, "I'm ready."

"Good," said Lea, "First: Sing me the song that most reminds you of the first person who ever loved you."

Sarah thought for a moment; who had loved her before anyone else? Then it hit her.

_'Mom.'_ Of course! The strong image of her mother flashed in her memory, the first face that had greeted her with a true smile, the first one to welcome her into the world with open arms.

Sarah gently closed her eyes and laid her hands over her heart, remembering her mother's favorite song, the one that always made her think of her.

_Memory  
Turn your face to the moonlight  
Let your memory lead you  
Open up, enter in  
If you find there  
the meaning of what happiness is,  
then a new life will begin_

The hand directly over her heart gripped her shirt with inner strength and her hair seemed to float, despite the lack of wind.

_Memory  
All alone in the moonlight  
I can smile at the old days  
I was beautiful then_

Sarah remembered the days with her mother and spoke them in the song.

_I remember  
a time I knew what happiness was  
Let the memory live again_

Now she put in the memories of the harshness of her mother's acting career, the pressures of the theater and how they affected her marriage and her health.

_Burnt-out ends of smoky days  
The stale, cold smell of morning_

Her voice strengthened with the drama of the ballad.

_The streetlamp dies  
Another night is over  
Another day is dawning!_

She felt her emotional energy beginning to drain as she thought of her mother's death—the car crash, the hospital, the tears—and she sang to the moon.

_Daylight  
I must wait for the sunrise  
I must think of a new life  
And I mustn't give in_

_When the dawn comes,  
tonight will be a memory, too  
And a new day will begin_

Her strength was gone and she fell to her knees, leaning on her hands and trying to breathe.

* * *

High in the prison tower, the unicorn/maiden was kneeling in the barred square of moonlight from her 20-feet high window when a strong breeze flew down to her. She smelled on it the scent of mountain waterfalls, lush green forests, and vibrant spring flowers.

The scent of a virgin!

She felt distress from her and her eyes shimmered and her horn glowed; she sent her voice to her on the wind.

* * *

Suddenly, Sarah felt power and strength returning to her on the wind, and a young woman's voice was singing!

_Sunlight through the trees in summer  
Endless masquerading_

Sarah joined it.

_Like a flower as the dawn is breaking_

She smiled and finished on her own.

_The memory is fading!_

With the wind blowing in her hair and her strength returned, Sarah rose to her feet and belted out the rest of the song, again, to the moon.

_Touch me!  
It's so easy to leave me  
all alone with the memory  
of my days in the sun_

She held the feather she'd caught up to the moon and almost felt she was speaking to Jareth himself.

_If you touch me,  
you'll understand what happiness is_

She looked toward the castle.

_Look  
A new day has begun_

Lea let the human's voice linger in the air before purring her approval.

"That was beautiful," she said while bowing her head, "For your second song, sing to me what most reminds you of the truest friend you've ever had."

Sarah turned her face up thoughtfully with her hands pressed together against her chin; she didn't have too many friends at school except Ruby, a real sweetheart of a girl. She was true, but not that deeply. Who was the one friend she always had, no matter what? Who was there to stay when the goblins went away?

_'Oh!'_ she clicked, _'Toby!'_ Just thinking about her precious little brother made her smile like the sun: His bouncy hair, his bright eyes, his easy smile, his refreshing innocence with a pinch of magical wisdom, everything about him that attracted people to him. She sang.

_Why do birds suddenly appear  
every time you are near?  
Just like me, they long to be  
close to you_

She smiled at Lea in spite of herself and shrugged her shoulders with her hands in her pockets.

_Why do stars fall down from the sky  
every time you walk by?  
Just like me, they long to be  
close to you…_

She held out the "you" and stretched her arms out and up; then she started dancing around on her toes like a ballerina with baby Toby in her head.

_On the day that you were born,  
the angels got together  
and decided to create a dream come true  
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair  
and golden starlight in your eyes of blue_

She twirled around once and leapt backwards to stand by Ludo and she leaned on his arm and swayed to the next stanza.

_That is why all the girls in town  
follow you all around  
Just like me, they long to be  
close to you_

She hummed the short instrumental break while dancing around her friends, grabbed Hoggle's hands, and danced in a circle with him.

_On the day that you were born,  
the angels got together  
and decided to create a dream come true  
So they sprinkled moondust in your hair  
and golden starlight in your eyes of blue!_

Still holding Hoggle's hand (and obviously getting carried away) she went back to Ludo and held his other arm, making both of them sway with her.

_That is why all the girls in town  
follow you all around  
Just like me, they long to be  
close to you!_

She looked forward with an expression of pure and genuine sisterly love for Toby and Lea was able to see the spark in her human's eyes.

_Just like me, they long to be…  
close to you_

Lea waved her forepaws up and down like a kitten batting at a string.

"Good job, Sarah!" she cheered, "That was adorable! And I could tell it came from your heart. Now if _that_ came from the heart, I can't wait for the third!"

"Bring it on!" Sarah smiled confidently.

"Very well," Lea smiled back slyly, "For your third and final song, sing to me that which most reminds you of the one you love more than anyone else."

Sarah froze and her face flared up; Lea had an evil smile on her beautiful face—not like villainous evil, but like a close girlfriend asking about a crush.

Sarah turned away for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. Who did she love? Her parents, Toby, her goblin friends…

And Jareth.

She gasped softly with wide eyes and whipped her head up.

Is that what had happened to her? Had she fallen in love with the Goblin King? Every encounter they'd had flashed across her memory, from when he took Toby away to when he'd left her on Natella's boat. She thought of his eyes, so beautiful and sad…his hair, so soft and wild…his voice, dark and melodious. He'd done so much to protect her, to make her happy. She wondered why he bothered with her when he was so tortured himself.

She reached in her shirt pocket and removed the golden brown owl feather; the moonlight made it burn in silver.

_'Jareth…'_

_He drowns in his dreams_

She lightly fingered the feather.

_An exquisite extreme I know_

She turned back to Lea.

_He's as d—ned as he seems  
and more heaven than a heart could hold_

_And if I try to save him,  
my whole world would cave in  
It just ain't right  
Lord, it just ain't right_

She looked up toward the castle, where she knew he was watching.

_Oh, and I don't know  
I don't know what he's after_

She could feel the longing in her own eyes as she sang what she felt pouring from her heart.

_But he's so beautiful  
He's such a beautiful disaster  
And if I could hold on  
through the tears and the laughter_

Once again, Sarah held up the small feather against the moon.

_Lord, would it be beautiful,  
or just a beautiful disaster?_

Images from her adventure in the Labyrinth arose in her mind's eye as she sang (whichever ones the reader likes).

_He's magic and myth  
He's strong as what I believe  
My tragedy with  
more damage than a soul should see_

She held the feather to her heart.

_But do I try to change him?  
It's so hard not to blame him  
Hold me tight _(She closed her eyes)_  
Baby, hold me tight_

She could almost feel his arms around her and she wanted so badly to be with him again that she could hardly breathe.

_Oh, and I don't know  
I don't know what he's after  
but he's so beautiful  
He's such a beautiful disaster_

The hand that held the feather became a fist over her pounding heart.

_And if I could hold on  
through the tears and the laughter,  
would it be beautiful  
or just a beautiful disaster?_

Her singing became more passionate now.

_I'm longing for love and the logical_

She looked at her feather.

_But he's only happy hysterical  
I'm searching for some kind of miracle  
I've waited so long  
Waited so long_

She hung her head and fought against the threatening tears. Her emotions only made his image more vivid in her mind and she remembered intensely how it felt when he held her, when she touched his face, when they danced together. She touched her red face and sang softly.

_He's soft to the touch,  
but frayed at the ends, he breaks  
He's never enough,  
and still he's more than I can take_

_'But I still want him!'_ her heart cried, _'I can't stand being without him anymore!'_

She looked up at the castle again, her face the picture of torment as her eyes released the evidence of her inner turmoil, streaming with her feelings.

_Oh, and I don't know  
I don't know what he's after  
But he's so beautiful  
He's such a beautiful disaster  
_  
She fell back on her knees, but remained upright on them until she bent over and all but sang to the ground.

_And if I could hold on  
through the tears and the laughter,  
would it be beautiful  
or just a beautiful disaster?_

She sat back on her knees with one hand on the ground—a little calmer, but still crying.

_He's beautiful_

She lifted her feather before her face.

_Lord, he's so beautiful_

She held it near her lips.

_He's beautiful_

She held it in both hands and kissed it softly. The wind blew in her face and she could swear she saw his face closing in on hers, dangerously close to kissing her, but then it was gone.

"My lady," asked Sir Didymus, "Are you all right?" She looked around at her friends and then Lea, who approached her.

"In all my years of living," the sphinx said reverently, "and in all my dealings with humans…never have I heard a song with more passion, more meaning, than what I've heard from you. Not only have you passed my test and gained admission to the city, you have won my admiration and loyalty as well." She bowed her head low to her.

"I will personally escort you through the Gargoyle City and see that no harm befalls you," she vowed.

"Thank you, Lea," Sarah bowed as well, "You're too kind."

"Not at all," Lea flicked her tail, "Shall we, then?" She stood before her hole in the wall and roared a short lion's roar that made the hole grow larger.

"Step through, worthy travelers," she said formally, "and enter the gates to the Gargoyle City."

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Yay, a cliffhanger! (gets smacked in head by readers) Hey, what was that for? LOL

I hope you liked the songs, none of which are mine! (sigh) And by the way, about that dedication: If anyone knows who it was that made a video of Jareth/Sarah to the LIVE version of "Beautiful Disaster" on YouTube, PLEASE TELL ME!!!! I can't stress enough how much I loved that video, or how distressed I was to not find it again! So…if any of you have any depth of emotional attachment to me or my stories, please tell me if you know!!! First one gets a chapter dedication!  I guess that's not such a grand prize, but get this: The next chapter is a JARETH/JATHAN FIGHT SCENE.

If you want to hear the songs I put up, just look 'em up on YouTube or Playlist, or whatever. You already know who did "Memory" and "Beautiful Disaster," but some of you may not know that "(They Long To Be) Close To You" was done by the Carpenters (specifically Karen Carpenter).

I hope you like Lea, too! She's a cutie, isn't she? ^_^ Please review and tell me about the video thingy! And buckle up for a FAE FIGHT!!!!!


	15. Battle of the Brothers

As promised previously, I dedicate this chapter to notwritten, who was the first to provide me with information regarding the YouTube video I was looking for; sadly, it may not exist anymore. After a diligent search of my own, I'm convinced it definitely doesn't. Dang, that sucks! Anyway, thank you for helping me, notwritten! This chapter's for you!

* * *

_"I'll give you anything! Money! Women! (…) Men?"_—Stewie Griffin, _Family Guy_

* * *

**Chapter 14: Battle of the Brothers**  
In the royal court of the castle Obsidian, the Goblin King stared at the image above the water in the black stone basin.

The basin stood on a pedestal before the throne and was filled with enchanted water that projected any image wished above it. The image he and his brother were watching was Sarah.

His eyes were soft but shocked; he was still mesmerized by the beauty and power of her song that was so obviously for him. Her voice still rang in his ears, her passion still shook his bones, and the look in her eyes was forever seared on his heart.

He was standing in front of Jathan's throne and to the left a bit (his left), so Jathan didn't see his expression; even if he had, he still would've laughed as cruelly and harshly as he was now.

"I've never heard such an atrocious sound in all my life!" he laughed like glass falling on ice, "Was that truly the best she could do?"

"It was good enough to win over your gatekeeper," Jareth said quietly, "She's under _her_ spell now; she'll never serve you again."

Jathan stopped and stared at his brother: He was right. The sphinx that guarded his gate had abandoned him, and for that human girl! And a victory for her was a victory for Jareth.

_Shing!_ A lock of Jareth's hair fluttered in pieces to the ground and he saw a razor sharp card embedded in the pedestal that held the basin; he turned and looked at his brother, whose eyes held such crippling hatred that only he could stand against.

"The love of our parents," he said softly with quiet hate, "the affection of our sister, the respect of my mermaids, the loyalty of my sphinx…How much more do you plan to take from me before you're satisfied?"

Jareth turned back, plucked the card from the pedestal, held it up, and looked at his brother's reflection in it.

"I don't plan to steal any unicorns, that's for sure," he said coldly, "Nor do I plan to continue hurting our family!" Jathan rose to his feet, walked over to Jareth, stood across the basin from him, and stared at him.

"Hurting our family?" he whispered, then grabbed the basin and smashed it on the floor, its water puddling at their feet.

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO HURT THIS FAMILY!" he screamed as he toppled the pedestal, _"The day you were born I became the forgotten child, the forgotten prince! Every day you shone brighter and brighter until you until you blotted me out in our parents' eyes! __**You're**__ the reason I'm like this now! __**You're**__ the one who made everything so hard for me! __**You're **__the terrible one here, not me! It's all you! __**You!**__ YOU! Why are you my brother? Why are you even alive?_

"WHY WAS SOMEONE LIKE YOU EVEN BORN?"

His voice echoed through the court hall, bouncing off the columns and skipping down the corridors as it went. Jareth stood as still as they did, letting his words bounce off of him like the columns. Finally, he blinked.

"I must've asked myself that a thousand times," he said quietly while Jathan panted from his rant. "The truth is…I never knew why I was born…until I found a reason to live."

"And that is…?" Jathan asked.

"Fighting her way to your castle," Jareth answered, "to rescue a unicorn." He looked down at the puddle of water, which was playing the image of Sarah fighting gargoyles with the help of the sphinx and the goblins.

"Every time I look at her," he murmured, "I think, 'I was born to love this girl.' She is my reason for living." He made eye contact with Jathan.

"She is the reason I was born," he declared. Jathan slowly smiled a sick smile, like the Cheshire cat.

"Then I suppose," he said evilly, "I'll have to kill her." He turned around, intending to fly out one of the windows (which, by the way, have no glass) when he heard a "_sheen!_" and felt a sharp tip on the right side of his neck. He stopped, realizing his brother had a rapier sword pulled on him. Jareth tossed a sheathed one to the ground beside Jathan, who saw it with only his eyes moving.

"You'll have to kill me first," said Jareth dangerously. Jathan smirked, slowly bent to pick up his sword, and looked at it.

"All the better." In one swift movement, Jathan drew and struck his opponent's sword; Jareth backed into a defensive stance and Jathan did the same. After a brief pause, Jathan spun and made a break for the window only to be barred by Jareth with his sword aimed at Jathan's throat.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he smirked before backing him off. He jumped to the floor and poised himself for a serious butt-whooping.

* * *

"AWOOO!" Ludo bellowed, drawing another gargoyle to him like a magnet. Ludo swung his massive fist and crushed its stone face, flattening the gargoyle on his back. Hoggle jumped with a yell and stabbed him dead.

Lea stayed as close to Sarah as possible; she watched her back while Sarah slew gargoyles. Her claws looked and shone like silver and they dug deep gashes in her victims' bodies; her huge paws kicked them over the city walls. Her wild honey-colored hair flowed around her like a mane on a real lion. She soon noticed Sarah was starting to get a little tired.

"Lea," said Sarah, "I don't want to waste too much time and energy on these freaks. Do you know where Amalthea the Unicorn is being held?"

"Yes!" she answered and pointed her paw up, "See that tower in the back? It's a special prison for hostages! I could get you up there and—LOOK OUT!"

Lea spanned her wings around Sarah and ducked her head down; Sarah huddled against her and heard the thumps of small rocks battering the beautiful wings that proved to be soft but strong as steel.

"I suggest we take out those slingers first," said Lea, "If your friends can get up to that wall, they can run right into the castle."

"Sounds good to me," Sarah agreed. The bombardment ceased and Sarah ran to grab Ludo's arm.

"Ludo!" She pointed up at a row of gargoyles on a lower city wall that ran straight to the castle. "See them? I want to know if you can knock them over!"

"Ludo try," he nodded. He first howled at the wall, drawing out a rough staircase; he approached the staircase, looked up at a gargoyle holding a sling, and roared at him—not howled, roared. It was a harsh, loud, powerful roar that whomped the gargoyle like a sledgehammer and sent him screaming over the wall. It appeared to have disabled him too, because when Sarah ran up and looked over, there was a huge _ka-ploosh_ as his stone body plunged to its death. On seeing their comrade's horrible demise, the rest of the slingers stared at the (comparatively) short human and the hulking yeti growling behind her. They were joined by two more goblins—one with a black sword, the other on a dog.

Sarah took one step towards the gargoyles; they yelped and scurried backwards.

"Move it!" shouted Sarah, "Or you'll all join your friend there!" Lea pounced between the two groups and landed in a tail-lashing crouch.

"You heard her, boys," she growled, "Out of our way!"

"What the—" said a gargoyle, "Whose side are you on, anyway?"

Ludo roared at them just enough to knock them over; they scrambled to their feet and fluttered their wings for a hasty take-off. The wall path was soon cleared.

"Great job, Ludo!" Sarah smiled and hugged him, "Now you guys listen: Lea's going to fly me up to the prison tower where the unicorn is. You guys get into the castle and we'll meet somewhere halfway, okay?"

Hoggle grabbed her hand and pleaded, "Be careful, Sarah!" Sarah hugged him, too.

"I promise," she smiled, "You guys be careful, too."

"Fear not, my lady!" piped Didymus, "With courage and fortune at our backs, victory is assured!"

"Good," she smiled, "and stay together. I'll see you later." She straightened up and held her stone sword firmly.

"I'm ready, Lea," she said.

"Right," the sphinx/griffin nodded and bent down, "Climb on and try to sit in front of my wings."

Sarah climbed onto her broad back, placing her legs in front of the bases of her wings.

"Reach under my mane," Lea instructed, "There's a part of my neck you can hold onto without hurting me."

"Thanks." Sarah tucked her sword under her arm and grabbed the thick skin of Lea's neck; it was like picking up a kitten by the scruff.

"Now hold on tight!" Lea unfurled her wings. "You're in for a wild ride!"

With a swoop, they were in the air on what may have been the most incredible ride of Sarah's life.

* * *

_'No!'_ thought Jathan when he saw Lea zip past the court window, _'That human's more trouble than she's worth!'_

"Don't even think of it, Jathan," threatened Jareth as he brandished his sword, "The fight is between you and I." Jathan's eyes seemed to turn as stony as his kingdom; with a hard blow, he beat down Jareth's sword, slashed his arm, and made another break for the window.

"BLAST YOU, JATHAN!" his brother bellowed as he ran behind him. The crow was headed right for her!

Jareth stepped on the sill and jumped into the air to transform, but not before trying to cry out the only warning he could give.

"_**SARAH!"**_

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Oh, my goodness! Is your heart not pounding? Mine is!

Okay, so I think the idea of Jareth and Jathan's "reason I was born" discussion might have come from Ritsu Sohma from Furuba. ^_^ tee-hee! I seem to have a thing about that, don't I?

And I suspect I might have gotten the stone basin idea from Harry Potter; GAH! THEY'RE TAKING OVER MY BRAIN! HELP ME!

Ooh! Did anyone else not just want to punch Jay-Jay for laughing at Sarah like that? I can't believe him! What a total jerk! But don't worry; his defeat will come soon, but not in the way y'all might expect. ;) Thanks again to notwritten for his/her help! I heart you!


	16. Beagle Takes Gold for Unicorns

This chapter is dedicated to the legendary Peter S. Beagle, author of "The Last Unicorn." The chances of him ever reading this are pretty slim, but if he does, I hope he knows how much he rocks and that I loved the movie! (I haven't read the book yet; haven't been able to find it.) This is why I gave this chapter its title and this chapter will be jam-packed, so get comfy.

Oh: Remember what I said about Jay-Jay's defeat coming in an unexpected way? Yeah—keep that in mind. ;)

* * *

_"None but virgins have ever ridden me, and none ever shall."_—The Last Unicorn, _The Last Unicorn, Lost Version_ (I didn't really like the lost version; it kinda creeped me out)

* * *

**Chapter 15: Beagle Takes Gold For Unicorns**  
They were almost to the barred window of the tower; if she could slice through the bars and somehow ease her way down the wall, Sarah believed she could just walk out the door with Amalthea, no sweat!

"It _sounds_ like a good plan," said Lea when she told her, "but be careful: The best laid plans of mice and men…or in your case, goblins and girls…Anyway, I'll keep an air patrol around the tower and bust my way in when you've got her."

"Okay!" Sarah nodded. They were 20 feet away when suddenly, she heard the voice of the Goblin King.

"SARAH!"

She whipped her head back to see a crow headed right for her, screeching its head off!

Not having time to cry out, she grabbed Lea's scruff and jerked it sideways, making Lea do a barrel roll to the right with a surprised "Whoa-oa!" The crow missed and flapped to recover. Sarah sat back up.

"You okay, Lea?" she asked with pounding heart.

"Yeah," she answered and shook her head to clear it, "You kinda startled me, but it's okay! What's wrong?"

"That!" Sarah pointed at the crow, which was bee-lining at them again but this time it was intercepted by a white blur that beat it down and gave chase. Sarah gasped!

"_Jareth!_" she panicked. Lea shot off with her, leaving the two birds to face off.

"You can't help him now, Sarah!" she said urgently, "You've got to get Amalthea!" Sarah forced her eyes away from the beautiful owl and buried her face in Lea's gorgeous mane.

"Help him, Lea," she begged, "After I get in, please go back and help him!"

"I wish I could, Sarah," said the sphinx as they approached the tower, "but I'm still a legal subject to the Gargoyle King. By my honor, I cannot fight my king, even if I do hate him—and believe me, no creature here hates him more than I do."

They landed on the spired rooftop of the prison tower. Lea gingerly turned to face up, dug her claws into the stone, and eased them backwards until they reached the edge right over the window.

"Okay, Sarah," she said with concentration, "Hold onto my tail; it's stronger than any rope woven by man."

"All right." Sarah scooted backwards towards Lea's tail, held on tight with one hand, and jumped down so that she held the latter end of the tail, which Lea wrapped around her wrist for a better hold.

Sarah looked at the bars before her and once she stopped bouncing, she got a firm grip on her sword and swung with all her might, hacking through the tops in one swing and the bottoms on the back swing. Some of them clattered to the tower floor, which sounded some 20 feet below her; she'd have to jump.

"All right, Lea," she called, "I'm going in!"

"Sarah, watch out!" Her warning came too late; the crow had swooped in from her left and half-buried his beak in her arm.

She screamed out in pain and nearly lost her grip on Lea's tail, but it was strong and Lea tightened it as if it were a fist, swung the human back, then into the window. She then jumped down herself just in time to stick her haunches inside so the crow couldn't follow. She spread her wings along the wall.

"I can't fight you," she snarled, "but I can defy you!" She roared and it knocked him back for a moment; he was dazed enough for the owl to snatch him up in his sharp talons and start carrying him back to the courtroom where their fight had begun.

_'Give it up, brother,'_ he mentally told him, _'Your gargoyles have failed you and your griffin has betrayed you. You cannot win.'_

At this the crow went insane with anger that gave him strength. He bit the owl's leg with a death grip and swung him off of him and into the court hall. He stood on his human feet on the sill to see Jareth lying facedown against a pillar in his owl cape. Blood from his left leg had trailed from being thrown across the floor and was staining the feathers.

He was breathing heavily and watching his brother; he just sat down on a bench under the sill. He looked somewhat shocked. He finally had his mistake of a baby brother bleeding and injured and possibly near death, lying strewn at his feet, completely at his mercy…

And he had no idea what to do with him.

This was so strange, though; after so many years of resentment and hatred, why couldn't he decide how to exact his revenge? This was Jareth, the so-called Golden Boy who had upstaged him with his very existence!

So why, of all moments in a lifetime, was he hesitating now?

"I think we'll wait," he finally said, "and see what happens when your princess comes to your aid."

_'She's not my princess,'_ Jareth thought bitterly before starting to fade out of consciousness. His will was strong, though, so he held on.

And they waited.

* * *

Sarah screamed as she fell into the pillar of darkness; she was surprised to land on her back on what turned out to be a bunk chained to the wall. Her arm hit the edge, so her sword jerked out of her hand and clattered to the floor. She quickly sat up and looked to her right, where a bright yellow light was shining on the other side at the bottom of the wall.

She drew in a slow gasp with wide eyes; there lay a beautiful young woman with pearly skin and pale blonde hair down to her knees. Her small, skinny body was shining like an angel, but the brightest light came from the horn on her forehead; it was the palest blue, narrow, sharp, and swirl patterned, and gave off a white light. She was naked and cold and her eyes, for all their crystalline blue beauty, were empty and sad as she lay fetal on her side with her tiny wrists and ankles in cold iron shackles.

Still staring, Sarah slipped down from the bunk and walked slowly over to her, picking up her sword on the way. She stood it on its point and knelt to her; it seemed the proper thing to do.

"Lady Amalthea," she said breathlessly, "My name is Sarah Williams. I have journeyed from the mortal realm at the request of Her Majesty, Queen Jemna, to rescue you and to return you to your home in the Elf Kingdom."

The delicate maiden slowly sat up on her hands; she looked so weak!

"Fair virgin," she said with a flimsy voice, "I thank you and beg your pardon. This human form and this cruel prison have drained me. Please…" She held out one of her hands.

"Of course," said Sarah, "Hold still." Each shackle had a small hole, so Sarah carefully stuck the point of her sword in each one and turned it like a key; with each click, the chains fell empty to the floor.

When the last one came off, Amalthea's body sparkled with magic that lifted her inches off the floor. She started to shine with a white light that enveloped her completely and Sarah watched her shape change until she stood on all fours as a sleek white unicorn.

Sarah was even more in awe of her now; the unicorn was dainty and shining white with pale blue cloven hooves that had tufts of hair on each heel. Her neck was long and slender, her mane was curly at the bottom, and her tail was whiplike with a lovely poof at the end. She was the most beautiful creature Sarah had ever seen.

_'I __knew__ this was what unicorns really looked like!'_ she thought triumphantly, _'Peter Beagle was right!'_

"My lady," she asked, "Are you all right now?" Amalthea reared up and neighed joyfully with delicate golden tones.

"Much better, my heroine!" she chimed, "But you're hurt! Let me heal your wound."

"Oh." Sarah had completely forgotten about her bird-stabbed arm. Amalthea made her horn glow whitish-blue and carefully touched the tip to the wound; in a ripple of light, it was healed instantly.

"Thanks," Sarah sighed, "That's much better."

"And now, my deliveress," she neighed, "let us quit this dismal place."

She pranced lightly up the shallow steps to the door and stuck her glowing horn in the keyhole. The door unlocked with a click and they walked out together, side by side, with Sarah's hand on Amalthea's lovely neck.

"Come, Sarah," she invited, "Alight my back and I will carry you to King Jathan's court."

"Why there?" Sarah asked.

"You must defeat the Gargoyle King in order for my rescue to be complete," said the unicorn, "And there's someone else there of importance to you who lies injured at his feet."

"Oh, my gosh," Sarah gasped, "Jareth!"

"You must ride me," insisted Amalthea, "I will get you there faster."

"But you're a unicorn," she blushed.

"And you are a virgin." Amalthea touched her horn to the girl's forehead. "I only allow virgins on my back, so come. And hurry."

She climbed onto the unicorn's back and as they galloped down the corridor, Sarah felt like she was in a dream. Only in her dreams had she ever ridden or spoken with a unicorn and now she was rescuing one from a black stone castle! It was amazing! She could feel the unicorn's muscles moving fluidly beneath her, but she wasn't bobbing up and down like she would on a horse, and her light glowed around her as well. Her mane flew around her and it smelled like the first buds of spring and rippled like the sea under a full moon.

Suddenly the unicorn came to a rearing halt with her ears pricked up.

"What is it?" asked Sarah.

"Listen!" the unicorn hissed, "Do you hear?" Sarah looked around wildly, but she could hear nothing until finally, a chilly faint voice echoed softly off the cold stone walls. It was that hateful voice, the delicate knife slicing through silk.

_Welcome to my nightmare  
I think you're gonna like it_

_'Jathan!'_ she thought angrily.

_I think you're gonna feel you belong_

"Where's it coming from?" Sarah asked, trembling.

"The royal court," said Amalthea, "Do not fear, my brave girl. I'll not let him harm you." She turned her head to touch Sarah's forehead with her horn again, pulsing with a soft hum. She instantly felt strong and hopeful again; it occurred to her that Amalthea had been the one who'd sung with her at the gate.

"Thank you, Amalthea," she sighed, "Let's go." They continued their gallop and followed the voice of the Gargoyle King.

_Welcome to my nightmare  
Yeah_

They were of one mind now; Amalthea's horn glowed with anger and Sarah had her sword poised as they ran at the door to the court. For all her daintiness, Amalthea's hooves were as hard as diamonds and burst the door open!

"_All right, Jathan!"_ Sarah shouted, "Jig's up! Where are you?" She dismounted and looked around; the place was shrouded in mist like an early morning fog on a lake. Amalthea stayed half-curled around Sarah with her horn pulsing as they walked through the court hall.

_Welcome to my breakdown_

His voice seemed to swoop low over them.

_I hope I didn't __**scare you**_

That time, his voice was right behind her and she screamed and spun around to attack, but he was gone.

"There!" pointed Amalthea. He was leaning against a pillar in his black clothes with that sick smile and his deck of cards.

_That's just the way we are  
when we come down_

"I'm not playing around, Jathan!" Sarah yelled as she brandished her sword in both hands, "Where's the Goblin King?" He didn't answer.

_Welcome to my breakdown  
Yeah_

He slipped behind the pillar and disappeared; Sarah gave chase and the mist cleared to reveal the unconscious Goblin King—still bleeding in his owl feather cape—lying in the middle of the hall.

_"Jareth!"_ Sarah cried as she ran to him.

_"Stop, Sarah!"_ cried the unicorn. She did and looked up to see the screeching crow rocketing down towards her. This time she smacked him to the side with the flat of her sword.

"Guard the Goblin King, Amalthea!" she said, "I'll handle Jathan!"

Amalthea pranced over to his huddled form and touched his bleeding leg with her horn; it was healed instantly. He groaned and cracked his eyes open.

"Lord Jareth," she whispered, "Are you all right?"

"Amalthea," he croaked, "Where…is she? Where is…my…" He lost consciousness!

"Your Majesty!" the unicorn gasped. She heard the crow screech again and stood protectively over him.

"Don't come any closer!" she warned.

"Seriously, Your Highness," Sarah called, "It doesn't have to be this way! There's no need for violence!"

"Ha!" barked his voice from above, "You're the one holding the sword!"

"And you're the one trying to peck my brains out!" she replied, "So we're even! Now why don't you assume human form, I'll put my sword down, and we can settle this like grown-ups?"

"I know what you're trying to do, human," he echoed quietly, "You're just trying to protect your precious _Goblin King!_" Sarah blushed and looked back at Jareth.

As she stared at him, she felt something settle on her heart; it was soft as snow but the longer she looked at him, the more it solidified into a hardened resolve. A light glowed from within that filled her with happiness. She looked back up.

"Of course I'm trying to protect him," she smiled, "He's the man I love!"

As if on cue, magic light emanated from her body and small lights flew around her and changed her outfit into a white and more fancily detailed version of her play dress. Her hair changed, too—it was now wavy and the top half was in a ponytail. Even her sword was different! It was now a medieval English-looking sword with a white blade and a gold hilt.

"What's going on?" she murmured as she looked at herself.

"Sarah," the unicorn exhaled, "you've become a princess!"

"Huh?" she raised an eyebrow.

"It's true," said Jathan. She spun back to see him leaning against a pillar with a foot up to it, shuffling his card deck in the air like there was an invisible table. He had a brooding face and didn't look at her.

"You've declared your love for the Goblin King," he continued, "and now you're his princess." He held up the Queen of Hearts card again. From his perspective, Sarah fit right inside it.

"The queen of his heart," he said quietly. Sarah's cheeks turned pink.

"Jathan," she asked, "why do you hate your brother?" He didn't answer; he just stared at her and magically shuffled his cards from one hand to the other.

"Because he took everything away from me," he finally said slowly, "The attention of my parents, the affection of my sister, and now the loyalty of my gatekeeper."

"Jareth didn't win Lea's friendship," said Sarah, "I did. She liked the way I sang at the gates and decided to help me."

"But you're affiliated with the Goblin King," Jathan glared, "Therefore, your victories are his victories."

"Bullcrap!" Sarah spat, "You're just coming up with more reasons to hate him! I know why you really hate him, and believe me: I know how you feel."

Jathan's cards landed in his left hand and with his right he flipped out a Joker!

"That was the wrong thing to say," he hissed. Sarah blinked and the crow came charging at her again!

She stood her ground, dropping her sword and parting her feet. When he came just close enough, she grabbed the bird around his throat, cutting off his squawk. He beat his wings and flailed around, trying to scratch her wrists with his claws and squawking in a strangled choke (and you can imagine how nasty _that_ sounds coming from a crow). Sarah did not let up.

_"Listen to me!"_ she said as she shook him a couple of times to stun him still, _"Listen!_ I know you don't believe me, but I know where you're coming from! _I have a little brother, too!"_

He stopped thrashing; his foot slipped down her hand harmlessly and he fixed her with one of his beady eyes. She knelt down.

"I used to be an only child," she said, "When Toby was born, I was so jealous and angry. Suddenly, I wasn't the 'only child' anymore; I was the 'big sister' with responsibilities to my baby brother that I didn't want! Changing, feeding, playing, watching—I did it all and I hated it! I felt like I'd lost my place in the family because of one stupid baby. I started to think Toby had ruined my whole life just for being born and that we'd all be better off without him! Finally I wished out loud that the goblins would take him away and sure enough, they did.

"You'd think I'd have been happy to get rid of him, right? Well, I wasn't. I was horrified. And I realized that…as much as I thought I hated my brother, I still didn't want anyone to hurt him! However I felt about him, he was still my brother and I had to save him." She bowed her head for a moment.

"I can't really explain it," she continued, "I just…I just had to save him. Whether I like it or not, we're family and family helps each other, no matter what. I love Toby with all my heart…and it took his kidnapping to make me realize that. I'm ashamed of that, but I'm also glad it happened. It made me grow; it made me strong. And it gave me the relationship with Toby that I have today.

"Looking back on it, I know if I hadn't tried, I'd never see Toby again. I wouldn't be as close to him as I am now…and I would've regretted it for the rest of my life…(She looked at him seriously)…just like you'll regret it if you kill _your_ brother."

No one said anything for a while; Amalthea watched from Jareth's side; he was still in his feathers and still unconscious.

"You're not a bad person, Your Highness," Sarah gently continued, "You just want your parents to remember that you're there. You want them to smile at you, right? You just want to be told 'good work, son.' That's all you wanted, isn't it?"

The crow's eyes quivered emotionally and his feathers began to fall off and multiply and swell until he disappeared; the feathers blew away to reveal Jathan slumped over on his knees with his head bowed, his arms limp, and his cards strewn around him. His hair curtained his face and his shirt was white and ruffled, like Jareth's. His royal medallion hung on his chest with its dark purple amethyst.

"Yes," he said softly. He lifted his face to her and she saw tear streams down his cheeks. His eyes were soft and pitiful.

"That's all I wanted," he said quietly, "More than anything…I just wanted…their attention. That's all."

Sarah guessed that his parents had tried their best to reassure him of their love for him as Jemna had done, but he was so consumed with hate he hadn't noticed. She gently took his shoulders.

"Do you think killing your brother is the best way to get it?" she gently asked.

"I wanted to kill him," he shuddered, "I…I really wanted to! But I couldn't…I couldn't do it! Why? Why couldn't I do it?"

Sarah touched his face and stroked it with her thumb.

"Because deep down," she smiled, "you do love him." Jathan stared at her in mild surprise. Sarah smoothed his hair down a bit.

"Your parents love you, Jathan," she said, "They're waiting for you to come back to them. Jemna's waiting, too; she wants you to remember that she loves you. And Jareth…all he's ever wanted from his big brother was his love. He doesn't hate you, nor does he want you to hate him. Come on, Jathan."

Jathan started crying in earnest; he clung to Sarah with his face in her shoulder. She held him silently, like a mother with a crying child.

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he wept, "I'm sorry!" He pulled back, holding onto her shoulders.

"You don't need to apologize to me," she said.

"Yes, I do," he replied, "I used Amalthea to lure you here and hurt Jareth! I used you to get at him and ended up hurting Jemna, too! I always hurt the ones close to me."

"Then let's change that," said Sarah, "It's never too late to change." She stood up, pulling him with her.

"Let's start by waking Jareth up," she smiled.

There were battle noises outside the windows; the gargoyles!

"I'll call them off," said Jathan as he ran to the balcony. Sarah knelt at Jareth's side; she turned him over carefully to his back and moved his hair out of his face. He looked gorgeous when he was asleep.

"How do I wake him up?" she asked helplessly.

"An excellent question," said the unicorn, "but I'm afraid I don't know."

"Oh," Sarah clicked, "I _do_ know. I can't believe I forgot."

"What?" asked Amalthea. Sarah closed her eyes and chuckled.

"It happens in every story," she said, "like an essential element…The first kiss of true love." She held Jareth's face in one hand; it was smooth and perfect. She blushed.

"Curse you, Jareth," she smiled as she got closer to him, "and curse me, too."

Many teenage girls try to imagine how their first kiss will be; very few imagine kissing an unconscious man wearing owl feathers with a unicorn watching. But it was perfect for Sarah.

She eased herself back up and watched him; he groaned uncomfortably and opened his eyes. He blinked.

"Sarah," he breathed and touched her face, "I knew you were a princess."

"Welcome back," she smiled. He sat up and his owl feathers disappeared.

"Your dress," he said, "You've…"

"I'm sorry you missed it," she said, "but yeah: I _am_ a princess now…_yours_." He looked amazed for a minute, then looked up at the pillar closest to them. Jathan was against it with his hands to the stone. He looked ashamed.

"Jareth," he said self-consciously, "I know it isn't enough to apologize for all I've done, but…but I know now. So…I'm sorry. For everything." He walked to them and knelt.

"I have a lot of work to do to fix what I've done," he said, "I know there are some things I can never undo…" He looked at Jareth's face and immediately dropped his gaze; obviously, he remembered what he'd done to his eye.

"…but I'm going to fix what I can," he promised, "starting with you. Jareth…can you ever possibly forgive me for what I've done, how I've treated you?"

Sarah watched his face, not really sure how he'd react. Finally, Jareth touched his brother's shoulder.

"Just promise me one thing," he said.

"Anything," said Jathan fervently.

"Don't steal any more unicorns," Jareth smirked. Jathan looked surprised and glanced at Sarah; seeing her amused smile caused him to smile with relief.

"What will you do now?" Sarah asked.

"I must go to my parents in the Dragon City," he replied, "but first I must speak to my subjects." He looked at Jareth. "Go. Take your princess and the unicorn. Natella will meet you at the lake, or Lea will simply fly you across, if you prefer. Go quickly; the gargoyles are attempting to storm the castle."

"Right." Jareth got to his feet with some assistance from Sarah and Amalthea had him put his arm around her neck. As the unicorn started to leave with him, Sarah went to Jathan.

"Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Yes," he bowed, "thanks to you…my lady." He kissed her hand with the humility of a poor man before his queen. "Now go; return what you came for." She gripped his hand, curtsied, and ran out with Amalthea and Jareth.

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Yay for Sarah! She rescued Amalthea and declared her love for Jareth at long last! I'll bet none of y'all were expecting Jay-Jay to end up like this, did ya? I told you guys, this is heavily flavored with Fruits Basket spice. (bleh, sorry) I did have an idea of Jathan charging at the two lovers and then Amalthea running him through with her horn, but I decided this was more meaningful. I hope y'all agree.

As you can probably tell, there are some loose ends here that, I assure you, will be tied up in a nice, clean little bow. Those loose ends, of course, include Lea's personal hatred for her king, Jemna's unexplained loneliness expressed in chapter 9 or 10, whichever it was, and there's another childhood anecdote related to the injury of Jareth's eye that will be told from Jemna's perspective, and while I don't plan to go into detail with it, I will mention Jay-Jay's reunion with his parents. I don't want to go too much into it partly because this story isn't really about him (though I fear it may have turned out that way) and because I just don't feel like it. :P

And just to throw it out there, Toby and Jemna have been watching the entire adventure in Jemna's stone basin (every ruler has one) and Toby heard _every word Sarah said_…which means he now knows how Sarah felt about him at first. Oh, boy; how are we gonna handle THAT one? Good luck, Sarah! LOL

Oh, and that short rendition of Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare" is the version seen and heard on The Muppet Show, season 3; it's on YouTube. GO WATCH IT! Just type in "Alice Cooper on the Muppet Show" or something. It's lots of fun and Kermit keeps freaking out! Anyway, I should probably remind y'all that Jay-Jay is directly modeled on Alice Cooper (except for the mascara on his face—that's creepy), so he should have a creepy Alice Cooper song! ^_^ I DON'T OWN IT, btw.

And that's it for this chappy! Please leave me some nice reviews, and feel free to take a cookie from the tray! :D


	17. Only Hope

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience! Here is the final official chapter; after this, it's just the epilogue, which Jemna fans will LOVE! Thank you for sticking with me and for reading this story! (I actually have a doodle version of the chapter prologue; maybe I'll figure out a way to put it up on !)

CROSSOVER REFERENCE WARNING! And I don't own the song that Sarah sings in this chapter!

* * *

_"Stick a fork in me, Jerry; I'm done!"_—Kramer, _Seinfeld, The Butter Shave_

* * *

**Chapter 16: Only Hope**  
_I went to see Jarry the day Jathan hurt him…_

_He was kneeling on the floor with his eye bandaged. He was crying quietly. So I asked him, "Jarry, does your eye hurt?"_

_He didn't say anything. He just shook his head sadly and looked at me with his brown eye. Then he said, very softly…_

_"Jay-Jay hates me."_

_He wasn't angry that his brother had hurt his eye. He wasn't afraid he might go blind. He was sad…because his big brother hated him._

_I couldn't stand to see him in so much pain, so I threw my threw my arms around his neck and cried, "I don't hate you, Jarry! I never will!_

_"I will always love you!"_

* * *

"Sarah! Jarry!" Jemna cried out happily, "Welcome back!" She embraced them both. "I saw everything in my magic basin! You did it!"

Behind them, Amalthea neighed joyfully again with her silvery voice.

"Lady Amalthea!" Jemna exclaimed with misty eyes, "You're safe!" Amalthea pranced over and hugged her with her head while Jemna hugged her neck and cried. The unicorn rubbed her tears away with her nose.

"I'm quite well, dear queen," she said reassuringly, "You sent me the perfect rescuer." Jemna looked at Sarah, knelt to her like a man, and held her hand to her face.

"Fair maiden from the realm of men," she said humbly, "you have the gratitude of the Elf Queen. I am forever in your debt and you are always welcome in my kingdom." She stood with a mischievous smile.

"And if I may say so," she said, "you make a very lovely princess." She looked slyly at Jareth.

"_Mozel tov_, Jarry," she nodded, "And Sarah…I wasn't the only one watching you. Toby was, too."

"Yeah?" Sarah asked. Jemna leaned in.

"He heard what you said to Jathan," she murmured. Sarah's brain finally clicked; she realized he'd heard her tell about when Toby was first born.

"Oh, no," she gasped, "Toby! Where is he?"

"In his room," Jemna answered, "He's unusually quiet." Sarah gathered her skirts and ran out of the Willow Room, leaving Jareth with his sister and the unicorn.

She stopped at the door to the Lotus Room and knocked on it. Toby opened it with a sad face that lit up when he saw his sister.

"Sarah!" he said and threw his arms around her, "I'm so glad you're okay! I knew you could do it!"

"Toby," Sarah hesitated, "I want to talk about…"

"It's okay, Sarah," he smiled, "I heard what you told him about me. I also heard you tell him that you loved me." He burrowed his face into her stomach.

"I love you with all my heart, too," he said affectionately, "So it's okay." Sarah smiled and knelt to hug her baby brother.

* * *

Sarah stood on the amber terrace, where Jemna had first brought her, wearing a simple dark green dress of exquisite design. She had Addie's bracelet on her right wrist and glanced at it occasionally. She dearly hoped to see that sweet little mermaid again.

Down on one of the rose-bordered lawns, Toby was running around and playing with Sarah's goblin friends and had even attracted the attention of the unicorn, who pranced along with him and neighed with her silver bell voice.

Jareth was up in the Willow Room with Jemna, no doubt talking about Jathan's 180 of emotions. She remembered how Jemna had wept with joy when Jathan had come to her castle, how she'd embraced him lovingly and called him "Jay-Jay" again, how penitent and small Jathan had seemed. Sarah wondered what his reunion would be like with his parents.

She heard a flutter of wings and a white bird perched on the railing—a beautiful silvery white falcon with a golden brown breast, a silver beak, and mismatched eyes of blue and purple.

"Jathan?" Sarah quietly gawked, "Is that you?" The falcon fluttered its wings and trilled. It hopped onto her shoulder, leaving behind a gold colored card face down in the same pattern as any playing card.

"What's this?" she asked, picking it up. It was a Queen of Hearts…or something like it. Instead of the normal Queen, there was a rearing unicorn—a dead ringer for Amalthea with a golden horn, golden hooves, and golden mane and tail. The "Q" and Hearts were in their normal spots, but were also gold.

_'It is my gift to you,' _she heard his voice say in her head, _'Thank you.'_ He flew away with a falcon cry.

"I see my brother's been here," said Jareth from the entrance. She turned and smiled. He was back in his normal clothes; he walked over and she showed him the card.

"Yes, he has," she said, "Look." He held the card up and looked surprised.

"Oh," he said, "A Dancing Lady."

"What?" she asked, puzzled.

"He's made you a Dancing Lady card," he said, handing it back, "It's a rare and special sort of card Jathan invented himself. It plays music for you when you ask it to. You have only to speak your request and it will play from the card while an image of the figure on the card dances above it. Thus far, he's only made two of these cards, and they actually _had_ dancing ladies. One belongs to my mother, Queen Josethine. The other belongs to my sister."

"Wow," Sarah breathed, "It's so beautiful. I don't know what I did to deserve it, though; all I did was tell him what I went through after Toby was born."

"That, I think, is precisely what someone like Jathan needed," said Jareth, "Someone who understood how it feels to think they've been dethroned or demoted."

"To tell the truth," Sarah said a bit sadly, "I kind of saw myself in him…you know, without the psychotic violence."

"You moved on, though," he reminded her.

"Yeah, I did," Sarah smiled at him, "thanks to you. If it wasn't for you, Toby and I might not be as close as we are…I might not love him as much as I do." She looked back to see Toby being happily tackled and licked by Ambrosious.

"I mean, look at him," she said, "What's not to love?"

"Speaking of which," Jareth turned her face to him, "I don't believe I was conscious for our first kiss." Sarah turned pink, but was more than happy to oblige him a kiss. She quickly learned that when fully conscious, Jareth was a butt-kicking kisser.

"Wow," Sarah breathed when they stopped, "You're amazing." He chuckled.

"I've had a long time to become so," he replied, placing the bridge of his nose to her forehead. She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jareth," she said sadly, "I'm sorry I took so long. I don't even deserve your forgiveness. Oh!" Jareth had her sitting in his arms like a two-year-old and he was looking up into her face, which was light pink.

"You've always had it, Sarah," he said sincerely, "I would have waited a lifetime for you. Thank you for coming back to me." She hugged his neck and kissed him again, overwhelmed at his enduring faith and his quick forgiveness.

"So now that you have me," she asked, "what are we going to do?"

Jareth knew what she was asking: They'd have to have some kind of arrangement, since Sarah was still in high school; of course he'd visit her at every opportunity, but her parents might not be too crazy about their daughter dating a man who looked 39 years old. Eh, they'd think of that later.

Up in the castle, there was piano music playing.

"I don't know about you, love," he said as he put her down, "but personally, I'm inclined to dance." She looked surprised for a second, then nodded and danced with her Goblin King right there on the terrace. Whatever happened to them now, they had each other, and that was more than enough for both of them.

Later on, about twilight, Sarah noticed the piano music was slower, sadder, more emotional than anything she'd heard before.

"Once upon a time," Jareth told her as they slow danced, "there was a beautiful little princess who used to accompany her father on his many exploits to the mortal world; on one such occasion, they happened to be staying in Spain. It was there, in a humble village, that the little princess met a young boy only one year her elder. He was a handsome and kind young lad, the son of a renowned sword maker. The boy's name was Inigo Montoya and when the princess met him, she knew almost instantly that no one else would have her heart."

"Inigo Montoya?" Sarah repeated in shock, "The guy from The Princess Bride?"

"The same," he nodded, "The boy and the princess played together every day and consequently grew more and more fond of each other…until one day, when the boy's loving father was murdered in cold blood."

"By the six-fingered man," said Sarah.

"Precisely," he said, "and when Inigo swore to avenge his father's death, it meant he would have to leave Spain. The princess was saddened by this, but she knew he would never rest until his father was avenged. So she promised to wait for him no matter how long it took. She promised to pray for his success and his safe return. He promised he'd return on a white horse." They stopped dancing and made serious eye contact.

"She's still waiting," Sarah asked with wide eyes, "isn't she?" Jareth nodded grimly.

"Every twilight she plays that piano of hers in the Music Tower," he said as he looked up at the castle, "It's her signal to him that she remembers their promise and that she's still waiting for him." Sarah looked up at the tower sadly and sighed. Jemna was one of the most wonderful women she'd ever met; it wasn't fair for her to be without her true love for so long!

"Isn't there anything we can do for her?" she asked, gripping his hands.

"I don't know," he answered sadly. Sarah grabbed Jareth around his chest.

"Don't ever go away, Jareth," she pleaded, "I never want to be separated from you again!"

"Sarah, relax," he smiled with her face in one hand, "I'm not going anywhere, certainly not after I finally have you." He looked deeply in her eyes. "I will never leave you again." And he kissed her again, deeply and passionately.

"Now, then," he said lightly as he scooped her up, "perhaps you'll tell me about this play you're starring in?" She smiled brightly.

"Of course!"

* * *

Later that night, Sarah couldn't sleep. She was in the most lavish guest room the Elf Kingdom had to offer, and she couldn't sleep!

Maybe it was the soft lilt of piano music that she heard again; she looked at her Dancing Lady card, but it was silent and unmoving. It must have been coming from the Music Tower again.

She slipped out of her bed, her toes sinking into the thick softness of the red rug. She pulled on a gossamer night-jacket over her soft blue nightgown with long sleeves and a wave-stitched hem. She flitted across the light in her fireplace, her night-jacket floating out behind her.

The door knob made no sound as she slowly opened her door to peek out into the moon-washed corridor, its marble floors and walls shining with their Elf-made polish and the added silver luster of the moon.

The music was still going and it sounded beautiful; she had to follow it and she did—down the hallway and up a wide spiral staircase behind a door. She climbed the stairs to another door, which opened onto a slightly sloping hallway that sloped up to her left. She went up the hallway, figuring she must be in the Music Tower, especially since the music was getting louder.

Finally she reached a silver door with a rose-shaped knob; she carefully opened the door and peeked inside with one eye.

The Music Tower was a silver circular room with all sorts of instruments on stands: Cellos, violins, clarinets, saxophones, drums, etc. They were stationed along the wall, which had beautiful arched windows with bench-sills. In the middle of the moonlit floor was a shiny black baby grand with the lid closed; sitting at it and playing the beautiful music was Jareth.

Sarah's eyes widened softly; his back was to her, but his hair was white and his shirt was intensified by the light.

He played up a soft intro to a song Sarah knew; it seemed magical the way it sounded. She felt a tug inside her and she sang.

_There's a song that's inside of my soul_

She blushed, but inched halfway in the door.

_It's the one that I've tried  
to write over and over again_

Once again, she was speaking to him in song.

_I'm awake in the infinite cold  
but you sing to me over  
and over and over again_

She slowly started to walk in.

_So I lay my head back down  
And I lift my hands and pray  
to be only yours, I pray  
to be only yours  
I know now  
You're my only hope_

She looked out the window directly under the moon.

_Sing to me the song of the stars  
of your galaxy dancing  
and laughing and laughing again_

_When it feels like my dreams are so far,  
sing to me of the plans  
that you have for me over again_

She danced around while she sang the second chorus; her nightgown twirled and fluttered around her feet while the gossamer throw-over glided behind. She stopped a couple of feet behind him. Her eyes burned intensely as she stared at the back of his head. She put a fist over her heart.

_I give you my destiny  
I'm giving you all of me  
I want your symphony  
singing in all that I am_

_At the top of my lungs,  
I'm giving it back!_

She sang the final chorus with her voice full of all sorts of emotions—happiness, love, fear, uncertainty, longing—and she softly ended it by sitting beside him on the bench. Jareth finished the music with a quiet flourish and let it fade. After a moment of silence, he reached over and gently turned her face to him with her chin delicately in his curved fingers. He was staring at her like he was trying to memorize her face.

"Moonlight becomes you," he murmured, "It becomes you so well." Sarah thought the same about him; he burned silver in the moonlight the same way his owl feathers had. He was more beautiful than anything she'd ever seen, even Amalthea (which is saying a lot).

"I couldn't sleep," she confessed, "I woke up and heard the music, so I thought I'd check it out."

"Oh, dear," he said, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, no," she shook her head and held his hand, "I think my head was just too full. I keep wondering what will happen when Jathan sees your parents again, if Inigo will ever come back to Jemna…and…about us." She lowered their hands.

"Jareth, I love you," she said longingly, "I love you so much I can hardly breathe. And I know you probably want me to stay with you in the Goblin City, it's just…"

"You're still in high school," he supplied, "And you're only nineteen. You still have much of life to experience before making any…commitments." He had his eyes turned away in slight embarrassment. Sarah blinked in surprise; he might as well have dropped on one knee and popped the question.

He turned from her and walked over to the window; he truly was embarrassed. Sarah tentatively walked over to him and took his hand.

"It was easy at first," she said, "Focusing on Toby made it easy to lock up my feelings and ignore them, pretend they weren't there. The older he got, the harder it got to ignore how I felt about you. I started to think, what if? But then I realized it was too late for what ifs. What's done was done…and I thought I'd never see you again." She swallowed and gripped his hand.

"Why would you ever have thought that?" he asked in real confusion.

"I thought you hated me," she blurted, "I conquered your Labyrinth, defeated your castle guards, I even beat you! I thought you'd never want to see me again after something like that, so I tried to forget I ever felt anything for you!"

_'Dang it, Sarah,'_ she thought, covering her mouth, _'Don't start crying now!'_ But her heart was pounding so hard she couldn't help it, nor could she look up at him. Jareth sat on the window sill so she had to and he gently held her face.

"You couldn't do it," he asked gently, "could you?" She stared emotionally at him with her eyes spilling over.

"No," she breathed, "I couldn't. I…I know you think I'm such a strong person…"

"You _are,_ love," he interrupted. Sarah shook her head stubbornly.

"Not strong enough to live without you," she whispered. She met his eyes; he looked like he could hardly believe what she'd said. He was searching her face and realized she was telling him the truth. She truly, deeply loved him!

He stood up, took her face in his hands, and kissed her more deeply and passionately than ever. Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and rejoiced in feeling his hair around her face; Jareth wrapped his around her waist and plucked her off her feet. Nothing existed for them anymore but each other.

The make-out finally ended with Sarah in Jareth's lap, lying against his chest while he lounged across the window sill. She loved the feeling of his soft, strong arms around her, the bare of his chest against the side of her face, her forehead nestled in his neck, his fingers constantly touching her face and streaming her hiar, and above all, his deep, throaty voice whispering "I love you" while she drowned in his beautiful eyes.

"We should get you back to bed," he sighed presently.

"No," she pouted and gripped his shirt, "I want to stay here with you." Again she felt his throat move with his chuckle. He stood up with her and she hugged his neck tighter.

"Aw," she whined sleepily.

"Now, now, love," he smiled as he carried her off, "You've had a taxing day: You've battled an army of gargoyles, charmed a griffin, rescued a unicorn, drastically changed a man's heart, and obtained royal status. You need to sleep on it."

"I'd rather sleep on you," she smiled. Jareth got a weird look and straightened up her back.

"Awfully brazen when you're drowsy, aren't you?" he smirked.

"I don't mean that, pervert," she blushed.

"I know," he said as he opened the door to her room. She didn't notice the time passing; he carried her to her bed and gently laid her down, then covered her up and smoothed her hair back.

"Don't go." She touched his face. He smiled his amused smile.

"I won't," he promised, "When you wake, you'll be in your own bed in your own home, and I'll be watching over you."

"Promise?" she slurred, losing consciousness. Jareth chuckled again; she was still such a child. He leaned down over her.

"I promise," he whispered, "Remember, Sarah: I'm always watching you." He kissed her forehead, both her cheeks, then he slowly and gently kissed her lips. Sarah fell asleep under the kiss of the Goblin King.

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Whoo! Does anyone else feel the need to stick their head in the garden hose? I do! LOL

I know a lot of points sounded like good endings, but I had to put all that in there! I HAD to! That little song number is something I imagine every time I hear it!

I'm sorry if you guys were expecting some big emotional brother/sister love speech from Sarah, but Toby's a smart boy and he did hear her say she loved him, so he's okay...I think.

Holy crap, Jemna's in love with Inigo!!! Then again, who isn't? LOL Don't get me wrong; I adore Westley, but Inigo's got that sexy Spanish vibe! I think he and Jem make a good couple, but that's just me. AND DON'T ASK ME ABOUT YEARS AND AGE, 'CAUSE I DON'T HAVE THAT FIGURED OUT. JUST GO WITH IT, PLEASE.

Did anyone like Jathan's reformed bird form? I got the silver-winged falcon idea from "Quest for Camelot," which, by the way, has Cary Elwes in it! YAY! The Dancing Lady card is something I made up, but was probably influenced by my Yu-Gi-Oh phase (blush). Hey—I liked it! And I happened to love Joey's English voice; it was hilarious! I mean, who didn't love his exclamation of "GIGANTIC DOUGHNUT!" That gets me every time! But I digress…

The chapter prologue (which I haven't done for several chapters, sad to say) definitely has that Fruits Basket flavor, but was not a direct reference to any Furuba scenarios…at least, not that I can think of.

Please leave a nice review and STAY TUNED FOR THE EXCITING AND ROMANTIC EPILOGUE! 'Cause don't forget—Jay-Jay still has unfinished business with one of his subjects! See ya next time!


	18. Epilogue: Gold Feathers, Silver Wings

Dang it, I hate it when a story's over! Thank you all for your lovely reviews and I hope you'll enjoy my other works! I have stuff for Jimmy Neutron, Kingdom Hearts, Cars, and Teen Titans! So please, feel free to peruse my humble wares!

This epilogue is mostly for Lea fans (if any) and Jemna fans (I hope there are some), so please enjoy the final tying up of loose ends, as well as the revealing history of Lea's servitude on the island of the Gargoyle City.

* * *

_"Time will fall away, but these small hours still remain."_—Rob Thomas, _These Small Hours_

* * *

**Epilogue: Gold Feathers, Silver Wings, White Mares**  
Jathan stood on his main balcony in the middle of the castle, overlooking the whole island. His entire kingdom had gathered to hear their king's words; they were everywhere—standing on the ground or perched overhead. Directly across from the castle he could see Lea sitting up straight with her wings tucked in and her tail curled neatly around her feet. She'd groomed herself nicely, too—her human-textured hair that was shaped like half a heart around her head was smoothed down perfectly. He felt a twinge of guilt; it was time to set things right.

"My people," he said clearly, his voice magically being heard by all, "I stand before you a changed man. I've finally come face to face with what I was and what I truly am. I know that I have not always done right by you as a ruler, and for this I most humbly and fervently apologize. As a public act of contrition, I will right a particular wrong I committed against one of you long ago. (He took a big breath.)

"Lea Goldfeather, will you please come forward?"

She looked surprised and uncurled her tail; with all eyes on her, she flew to the balcony and stood before her king on one side and he stayed on the other side so everyone would see.

Lea felt very nervous; she'd defied him while he was still bad and now that he'd gone through the most drastic change of heart since Paul, she wasn't sure if he'd ask her to stay. Truth be told, she didn't want to.

"I have never told you all the story of how Lea came to our island," he continued, "I have kept it a secret until now. But no more.

"Five hundred years ago, I took a journey to the mortal world in one of the more barren countries. I came upon the legendary Sphinx living in the ruins of an ancient city, no longer peopled. Playing near her was a cub—the most beautiful golden cub ever born—clumsy and playful with only tiny wings beginning to sprout."

You had to give him credit for his ability to make eye contact with her and her piercing green cat eyes, but he wasn't afraid of her anymore like he used to be. He was harrowed with guilt and regret for what he'd done, but at least he kept both feet on the ground.

"The little cub wandered away from her mother," he continued, "When she was far enough away, a card fluttered at her feet. She pounced toward it, but it flitted away. She chased it into a dark copse of trees and when she finally caught it, her paws on it released a dust that flew into her eyes. It was sleeping dust. The next time she opened her eyes, she was in my court…and has been here ever since."

He stepped to her and tentatively reached into the part of her mane that hung in front of her chest. He withdrew a card on a leather thong. The face border was a chain; the figure was an angel with gold hair and gold wings to match Lea's. Her wrists were held against her chest and her wings were folded behind her. She was tied with chains issuing from the corners and her eyes were closed.

Jathan held the card face-up in his left hand; with his right he flicked his wrist and produced another card in his fingers. He turned it so Lea could see the face and she gasp: It was a King of Spades, only instead of spades there were swords and the whole card was purple.

The King of Swords, his most powerful card.

Lea's heart beat faster and Jathan looked intense but steady.

"I can never ask her to forgive me for what I've done," he declared, still looking at her, "nor will I vex her with my reasons…but I'm going to rectify the wrong I have done her, before you all."

He flicked the card upside down and touched it to Lea's card; they both shone with white light and wind blowing. The King and the angel appeared above them; the king mechanically raised his sword and brought it crashing down on the chains binding the angel. They came apart like headless snakes and disappeared. The angel spread her wings, flapped them once, and disappeared with the king in a shower of gold sparkles. The leather necklace around Lea glowed and disappeared, too.

She was free.

"King Jathan," she said chokingly, "I…"

"No," he said, "Just…just go. Live the life you want. You owe me nothing. You most _certainly_ owe _me_ nothing."

Lea's eyes spilled over and she quickly rubbed them with her huge, furry wrist. Then, in front of everyone and his uncle, she kissed their king on the cheek and flew off the balcony. She circled into the sky and disappeared into the moon. Jathan watched her go and sighed, rubbing his eyebrows with his fingers.

'_One down_,' he thought.

* * *

One thing no one could deny about Jemna was that she loved her kingdom—its people, its beauty, its landscape, everything. She ruled Amarantha like it was her own child. But nothing brought her more joy than her horses and the thrilling rides she lived for. Only her bird form gave her more freedom.

She was on one such thrilling ride at midnight, a few days after she bade goodbye to Sarah, Toby, and her brother. She was on _Femme Metalle_, her light silver mare with black mane, tail, hooves, and random black speckles. Her body lit up in the light of the full moon, making her look white, and the stars dusted her mane and tail. She was Jemna's favorite horse.

They were riding through an open hilly area near the ocean with the wind rushing through their hair and the rhythmic clopping of _Femme Metalle's_ hooves on the paved lane. Jemna was lost in the memories of Jay-Jay's emotional reunion with their parents, King Edworth and Queen Josethine. Everyone had cried and hugged, and Jay-Jay was to spend a few weeks in the Dragon City. She was so happy to call him that nickname, and to hear him call her "Jem" again.

Ahead on the path, she saw a bright light coming towards her. She smiled; it was Amalthea!

"My lady!" she waved and pulled up, "Good evening!"

"Good moon, my queen," Amalthea bowed her head to her.

"What brings you out here in the open, Amalthea?" the queen asked with concern, "Shouldn't you be in your forest?"

"Normally, yes," replied the unicorn, "but I've come looking for you. There's a man arriving from the eastern side of the meadow, alone and on horseback."

"Truly?" Jemna cocked her head, "Has he any weapons?"

"I didn't see him myself, my lady," the unicorn stamped a hoof lightly, "I was told by my nightingales, but they did mention a sword."

"Hmm," Jemna narrowed her eyes, "An armed lone rider coming to my castle at midnight? I'll have to see about this."

"Allow me to accompany you," said Amalthea as she pranced beside _Femme Metalle._

"Don't you think you've been in enough danger already?" asked her queen, "I have my own sword on the saddle, and I can't bear to think what would happen if you're caught so far from your home again."

"Oh, please, dear queen," Amalthea begged, "I could be a great help! Who do you think healed Lord Jareth's leg?"

"Oh, very well," said Jemna, "Just keep close behind. Come; we'll cut through the meadow."

She nudged the stirrups into her horse's side and galloped with the unicorn up and down the flowered hills. When the other path came in sight, they stopped at the top of the highest hill.

Jemna carefully looked to her right, her eyes narrowed with the focus of the ahwk she turns into. The Fae have a natural gift for keen sight, but Jemna honed hers down and perfected it until it was sharper than anyone's, even the unicorn.

Jemna gasped softly at what she saw: A cloaked man whose cape wouldn't pass his knees with a rapier sword of unrivaled craftsmanship with its hilt glittering and he was riding…

"A white horse," she whispered in shock.

"She's beautiful," said Amalthea, "Wait, Your Majesty!"

Jemna had _Femme Metalle _at a full run, headed straight for the rider, her heart pounding with wild hope. She kept her sharp eyes on him and saw him urge his beautiful steed into a swift gallop, which threw his hood back. His hair was neck-length and he had a somewhat thin mustache and Jemna could see the moon in his dark eyes.

The riders stopped their horses five feet apart; Jemna was breathing hard to keep her emotions under control. Amalthea stood at the back beside the silver mare and watched. She could feel the intensity of Queen Jemna's aura.

"Have you…" Jemna's voice wavered, then she cleared it. "Have you come very far…traveler?"

"I have, noble lady," he smiled with a thick Spanish accent, "I've come to reunite with someone most precious to me…a princess who has become a queen." His horse walked closer to hers until they were beside each other, facing opposite ends.

"And I came on a white horse, as promised," he said softly as he touched her hand. Jemna dropped all pretense, all defense, all royal formality, and wept. The man gently held her face in his hands. She opened her eyes to look into his dark Spanish eyes and she felt a strong pull at her heart. She drew a sobbing breath.

_"Inigo!"_ He pulled her onto his horse and they held each other like there was no tomorrow. Jemna buried her hands in his soft hair and breathed in the smell of the sea he'd brought with him.

"How did you find me?" she whispered in amazement.

"A falcon with silver wings came to me in a dream," he said, "He told me exactly where to go. How I crossed into your magical realm is beyond me, but I did it all on this horse, the same one I rode from Florin." Jemna's eyes widened at the mention of the falcon. _'Jay-Jay,'_ she thought tearfully, _'Thank you.'_

"The six-fingered man?" she asked, "Did you find him?"

"I did," he nodded, "and now my father's soul is at peace." Jemna touched his face and searched his eyes.

"And you, Inigo?" she asked, "Is _your_ soul at peace?" He smiled.

"I have avenged my father and found you," he said lovingly, "For the first time in twenty years, I feel fulfilled. My journey is over." They touched foreheads with their eyes closed.

"Then," Jemna asked quietly, "will you stay here with me…in Amarantha?" He smiled and tucked a bit of her hair back.

"After 20 years of waiting," he answered, "I am not keen to be separated from you ever again." He took her face and they had their very first kiss.

As they galloped back to the castle, Jemna caught a flash of silver on the edge of her vision, she looked back to see a silvery white bird flying over the forest in the opposite direction. She smiled and faced forward; she could hardly wait to see the look on Lord Gimble's face when he saw her with a strange mortal Spaniard!

THE END

* * *

**Author's Review****:**  
Whew! It's over! (…) WAAH!!!

Little revelation here: I couldn't come up with a reason for Jay-Jay kidnapping Lea like he did, other than he just needed a gatekeeper. But I hope y'all appreciate his doing right by her now. She's free as a bird now! I don't know what she's gonna do now, but she sure as heck ain't hangin' 'round here no more!

Interesting trivia here: I heard that in the super-old days, cards actually did used to have swords before being replaced by the spade. Maybe it was because cards were mostly played by famers! LOL

I totally dig Jemna's horse, too. I think she matches her! _Femme Metalle_ is a French term that translates to "Lady of Silver," or "Silver Lady." What better name for Jemna's horse, right? She just strikes me as a silver horse riding kind of gal! She's pretty cool! I hope to use her again in the future, but I don't have any definite plans for another Labyrinth story.

About Amalthea usually being in her forest: Most of y'all probably know this, (especially if you read/saw "The Last Unicorn") but as I understand it, unicorns prefer to be surrounded by trees and undergrowth. As for the nightingale network she has, I just added that for fun. ^_^ She's a well-informed unicorn.

Well, that's all the references…this is where I get off, I guess. (sniff) Please don't go away forever, though! Feel free to check out any of my other stories! I've got lots! I LOVE Y'ALL! THANKS FOR THE LOVE AND COOKIES! EVERYBODY GETS A ROSE!

See you next time!


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